France is looking to make filtering legal.

Cloggy

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According to demotorsite.be, the French are presently researching making filtering legal.

Filtering was made legal in Belgium in 2010 and although many people filter in France (it's pretty much accepted) they are now looking into bringing out new laws to make it legal.

here is a translation of the article:

Will you soon be riding in France through the traffic jams? After years of avoiding this issue, the French government has recently started investigating.


Filtering in Belgium has been legally permitted since 1 July 2010. A measure which the French motards surely envy. For in and around the crowded French cities filtering already comes in handy. If only to get to work on time.

But now it seems the French state have discovered the practicality of filtering . Filtering was recently part of a report of prefect Régis Guyot and the commission of "two wheelers" of the Conseil National de la Sécurité Routière (CNSR). In conclusion, Guyot admits that filtering is still increasing around the major cities and that its practice is tolerated. According to Guyot it is neither "politically or psychologically realistic nor practical to cut back this practice."


But Guyot suggests that it is not advisable to keep filtering in the current legal gray area any longer. The committee of the "two wheelers" CNSR are now investigating how to make filtering legal (in a specific law). Practically it mainly refers to the speed you are allowed to ride between two lanes of traffic. When the filtering in France will be legalized is not yet clear.


Who knows maybe this will spread world wide, here's hoping :thumbup
 
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CdnMedic

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

We sure could use that over here in Canada. But our drivers have no skill and their attitudes behind the wheel is so selfish they will try to use their cars to block you if they see you coming.

Our laws here also keep our bikes out of the carpool lane which is absurd. It's the safest lane for us to be in for so many reasons, and when there is a car pool lane, we are forced to be in a lane with no blocking position with cars consistently crossing our lane to get in to or out of the carpool lane in the places you are allowed to enter or exit the carpool lane. Dangerous for us but the gvt would never care to look at it.
 

greg

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

as the policeman on my bike safe course told us, "one of the main reasons for getting a bike to be able to filter"
 

Ssky0078

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

Somebody should just forward this image to them and they would have all the rules they need in one clear and easy diagram that even the french could understand (JK).

View attachment 46645
 

Motogiro

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

Here's a video in India where they pretty much have driving rule down to the finite.
Watch as this fine Canadian bus driver pilots his bus, learns Indian driving manners and teaches his Indian sidekick some of the finer English vocabulary. NSFW.

The reason there are so many against lane splitting is..... it would be logical!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSy46ghV-G0]Indian driving manners - YouTube[/ame].
 

Tagger

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

It was just a mather of common sense in Belgium. It was "allowed" for a long time, no cop would stop you for it as long as you behave. Since that law all that changes is that it gives us a legal base in case something goes wrong, giving us a step up when defending our actions to the court or insurance in case of an accident. :rockon:

It is regulated though, you're not allowed to go faster than 50km/hour for instance.
 

Chickenz

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

It was just a mather of common sense in Belgium. It was "allowed" for a long time, no cop would stop you for it as long as you behave. Since that law all that changes is that it gives us a legal base in case something goes wrong, giving us a step up when defending our actions to the court or insurance in case of an accident. :rockon:

It is regulated though, you're not allowed to go faster than 50km/hour for instance.

Thats a sensible speed. I only ever filter in stationary of slow moving traffic. I certainly wouldnt nip through anything going faster than 15mph.

Is it true that in the States people can overtake on the right and left side of a vehicle? Thus pulling out into there own blind spots?
 

CdnMedic

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

Thats a sensible speed. I only ever filter in stationary of slow moving traffic. I certainly wouldnt nip through anything going faster than 15mph.

Is it true that in the States people can overtake on the right and left side of a vehicle? Thus pulling out into there own blind spots?

Here in North America, we're supposed to pass on the left. However, a lot of people on the road don't think of the left lane as the passing lane, they think of it as the "fast lane"... So they go a bit faster than most of the traffic and park their rear ends in that lane and won't move back to the right when it's clear to do so... And that forces people to go around on the right.

If we're on a normal 2 lane road, we pass only on the left, unless a vehicle in front of us is turning left, we can then pass on the right of that vehicle if there is room.
 

Ssky0078

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

Thats a sensible speed. I only ever filter in stationary of slow moving traffic. I certainly wouldnt nip through anything going faster than 15mph.

Is it true that in the States people can overtake on the right and left side of a vehicle? Thus pulling out into there own blind spots?

In the US we are "supposed" to pass on the left and the only exception is that in a case where there is a driver taking a left hand turn and you can safely pass on the right.

I pass on the right predominately. As my friend said, "the drivers in front won't see you coming" My response, "That's the plan". I get through their blind spots in about a half a second. I dunno how it is in the rest of the country but Phoenix has a lot of wide open road ways. All the highways are at least 3 lanes and a car pool in each direction. The main surface streets are 3 lanes in each direction and a suicide lane. The secondary arterioles are 2 lanes in each direction with a suicide lane and the housing streets are the only ones that are single lane in each direction. On top of that because we have a lack of rain and snow/ice to damage the roads, most are in decent shape so traction and braking is not an issue.

When I pass on the right I usually get up on a car, downshift 2 gears, get in that 7000 RPM sweet spot, then rocket past. I don't give them but less than half a second to have a chance to cut me off or clip me.

As it was said, people routinely who feel entitled get over into the left lane and go the speed limit or a few miles over the speed limit (even brake checking you if you get up their ass for going at or below the speed limit even). The left lane is "supposed" to be for overtaking and slower traffic is supposed to keep to the right. I let the idiots go in the left lane and more often than not I will get a dozen of car lengths ahead by working the right lane. Also the moment you flip on your turn signal, guaranteed even if that car is 2-3 car lengths behind you they will accelerate and try to box you out. I basically flip the turn signal as I'm getting in the lane, again giving them no time to cut me off.

The only time I don't like overtaking on the right is on surface streets at intersections. It is the perfect recipe for a "left turner" to take me out. So I usually flank the car to my left and stay in the center or right lane, then once through the intersection, I take off.

I grew up in WA and it was actually a law that if more than 5 cars got backed up behind you, you were obliged to pull over and let them pass (this law was never enforced)

I know this sounds rather aggressive and maybe crazy but I assure you I'm always maintaining escape routes and a decent enough for me safety cushion. Once I get into a good open space I try to keep my distance from the morons behind me and a safe distance from the next pack of morons in front of me.
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

Lane splitting would be great (at least in stopped or slow traffic) here in Florida (sh.., we don't even have to wear helmets!).

Down here, especially in tourist season, the left lane is used the same as any other lane. And yes, its the same as elsewhere, you should get in the right lane once at speed.

Its not unusal to have a numbnut drive in the "fast" lane at the speed limit or worse yet, below the speed limit(that's in good conditions too). I call them the "Speed police", keeping everyone at the posted speed or below....
 

zmeiaspas

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Re: France is looking into making filtering legal.

Everyone does it - even bike cops. People around here would even filter past cop cars with no exceptions. Making it legal is more of a formality rather than anything else. I don't think it's currently even possible to get fined for filtering. But yeah - it's a good thing that they're making some noise around this. Hopefully more countries follow suit.
 
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