Bike lanes for motorcycles?

Thumper, absolutely, that’s what bicycle lanes are for – to get cyclists out of the way of cars. Yet the Motorists Party wanted to get rid of them!

On east Belconnen way onto Barry drive, car doors aren’t a threat (excluding criminal dickheads). I’ve been gaining fast on a moto there wondering what to do if (s)he didn’t merge back. Didn’t come to that.

It’s illegal plain and simple. As is lane filtering, both in moving traffic and instationary traffic at traffic lights and in traffic jams.

The rule are there for everyone, and i’m sure 99.9% have broken a law at some point, but some people clearly have a death wish while driving or riding. Motorcyclists riding a machine with the least protection keep putting up campaigns like “watch out for motorcyclist”. Guess what? when you’re filtering lanes or riding in bike lanes or the emergency, most drivers will not see you until the last minute. No sympathy for hearing about any rider being knocked off in that way.

Makes the cab quicker to pick up the next person though… so what’s the problem? They’re legally allowed to use it.

I ride a motorbike, and I generally avoid using bike lanes, but I won’t say I don’t. Like any kind of filtering, it’s done at low speeds with two fingers already on the front brake, and scanning the traffic and ahead for something coming up – and behind for any cyclists that are going along at least as fast as I am.

Never really seen that though – why would it be safe for a cyclist to be going faster than a motorbike in the bike lane… I guess if you enjoy gravel rash and picking burnt lycra out of your legs when you come off – the same risks of cars opening their doors and generally being tards applies to cyclists as motorbikes.

My ire is raised, and jealousy rages, when empty (except driver) cabs use the bus lanes and ‘B’ lights at the various intersections around town. When occupied, fair enough, but a red rag to a bull otherwise.

I mostly stay in the lane, only occasionally do I slip around beside cars (with or without bike path). And I only do that if I am turning the corner, not simply to get to the front. And only if the traffic is stopped.

I occasionally break other road rules too, but am happy with the decisions I make. What $hits me on the road is not people deciding to break the rules in some small way, but unthinkingly doing retarded things that don’t benefit anyone.

I actually caught up to one riding along Northbourne when I had to run an errand at Dickson before heading to work, otherwise I normally avoid Northbourne like the flu.

It was interesting, I yelled out (as politely as one can) if he wouldn’t mind going back to his legal lane so that I could pass. He apologised, moved over… but then continued to use the bike lane. It certainly wasn’t pleasant breathing in his exhaust which was direct straight at me, unlike cars or trucks. The noise, well I’m not fussed when commuting, but I imagine many people who just ride to commute may get startled- not good.

They’re currently conducting a trial in London of sharing the many bus lanes (in which bicycles are allowed to use). Although they are restricted by speed. I think a trial in the ACT may be worth looking into. However the problem that I see here in Canberra is that most bicycle commuters aren’t experienced enough in city traffic (because well, we don’t really have a lot) and might be startled and have an accident; the boons that ride their bikes pretending they’re a MotoGP rider are an issue; I guess most simply- bike lanes aren’t just wide enough to allow a bicycle pass another but a moto is much wider.

One must remember that every motorbike that moves into a bike lane creates a space for a car, thereby lessening congestion.

I can understand motorbike riders being annoyed by bicycle lanes. At lights, lanes are now so close together that it isn’t easy to pass between vehicles. I find the narrow lanes more difficult and more stressful to drive within. A three lane road was that wide to allow 3 vehicles to navigate it safely. There are bike lanes in Canberra that I haven’t seen as single rider in 6 months. And you get groups of riders, 2 or three abreast, in places where there are no lane, slowing traffic to a crawl. They don’t stick their fingers up at you, just their arses. And I suppose we have to take it cause their saving the planet.

The Brad said :

I wonder what they do if they come up to a cyclist? Do they go around, go back into traffic, or tailgate the cyclist until it’s safe to pass. I hope they go back into traffic.

I’ve had motorbikes share the cycle lane with me on Barry Drive a couple of times and I’ve had them trail behind me and also overtake me – I’m not a fan of the overtaking as it’s unexpected.

Jealous anyone?

yebbut, thumper, a cyclist is already a car fewer on the road – if you wanna ride a m/bike, stick to your lanes…

i got a great look from a tosser in an open top boxter parked mostly across the bike lane on nthbourne as he waited in stationary traffic 100m or so from where he was indicating he wanted to turn left (at least he was indicating – i supppose that’s something) and as i inched by between him and the gutter in my cycle lane, i looked at him and asked, “you’re parked in my lane, why?”

he looked aghast, then sheepishly away.

Motorcycles are allowed in any bus lane at all, and they are also allowed to proceed on a ‘B’ light – no restrictions.

http://www.tams.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/14054/buslanesad.pdf

And from the MRA ACT website: “ACT Motorcyclists permitted to use ‘bus only’ lanes”

“Unfortunately, there still seems to be a lot of confusion, and aggravation, about motorcycles using Bus Lanes, even though signage and road markings are clear.”
http://mraact.org.au/?page_id=103

@#10 – unless it’s a T2 lane, then motorcycles are allowed, along with buses, taxi’s and cars with more than two occupants.

The quality I value the most in all road users is predictability. Many accidents happen when somebody does something unpredictable.

…like undertaking me where there is no traffic lane, appearing suddenly from out of my blind spot and expecting to instantly rejoin the flow of traffic.

Two things I don’t want inscribed on my tombstone:
1. “Rest In Peas.” (um, actually that’s kinda “me”!)
2. “He died trying to save 2.1 seconds on the way to work.”

In my hometown (not Canberra) I once cycled past an accident on the side of the road. A small delivery van was sort of crumpled in on itself. It was only later that I found out there was a motorbike (and it’s rider) stuck in there. You couldn’t see him, or his bike.

He’d been zooming down the side of the road, avoiding the stationary cars, when the van (coming in the opposite direction) had turned across the lane (the cars had kindly left room for the van to turn across the traffic into the side road).

Musta been doing quite a clip eh?

Verisimilitude, it seems reasonably unlikely to me that a motorbike would hit a cyclist from behind in a cycling lane, given that the speed of the average cyclist is roughly 8x higher than that of the average motorbike in the same position! 🙂

Why thankyou WMC, but living in Canberra may be a pre-requisite…

As a cyclist who uses road bicycle lanes, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be hit from behind by a traffic-dodging motorbike. Probably a bit better than being hit by a traffic-dodging Pajero, I guess.

Well, driving home the other day I saw a cyclist on the city bound side of Commonwealth Ave riding towards Parliament House, against the oncoming flow of traffic. So, on that basis, a motorcyclist in a bike lane is quite fair and reasonable, haha.

jube for Chief Minister.

I’m a cyclist and I’m with The Brad on post #2 with this one.

I am a full time motorcyclist (in Canberra I was part-time as the drivers are too reckless – in rural Bundy though, no problem!), and my attitude is simple – I am a road user, and those rules apply to me as well. I get frustrated at ALL road users (cyclists, motorcyclists and cage) that flaunt these – what gives you the right? I know it is an impossibility, but the simple fact remains that if we all obeyed the road rules, it would be a much more pleasant commute each day!

The exceptions for motorcycles being allowed to use bus lanes are bus interchanges (and only bus interchanges, afaik).

I think motorbikes should specifically be allowed to filter through stationary traffic and I would allow the use of bike lanes for that purpose, as long as due care is taken to not crash into cyclists.

It is completely illegal to do so right now though so I don’t do it.

aidan said :

Are motorbikes allowed in bus lanes?

Yes, as are taxis.

I’m sure there is an exception to this somewhere in Canberra though.

Are motorbikes allowed in bus lanes?

captainwhorebags said :

Is it okay for smart cars to use bike lanes? Minis? They’d fit too.

Bike lanes are for bicycles. Not motorcyclists who think waiting in traffic is for “cage drivers”.

I’ll concede that most opposition to lane splitting between stopped cars is just jealousy but I think there’s a real safety issue with motorbikes in bike lanes.

Your argument is fundamentally weakened by your analogy. A smart car is much wider than a motorcycle. You don’t need to make this leap of logic to make your point (which I agree with as a motorcycle rider).

I think there’s a real safety issue with lane splitting. I see that a lot, even in fast moving traffic, and I think they’re lunatics.

And as a general statement which is probably not clear from my last post, Captain, I agree that motorbikes don’t belong in bicycle lanes. I’m picturing Northbourne in peak hour here, and I think it would definitely be a safety issue.

Is it okay for smart cars to use bike lanes? Minis? They’d fit too.

Bike lanes are for bicycles. Not motorcyclists who think waiting in traffic is for “cage drivers”.

I’ll concede that most opposition to lane splitting between stopped cars is just jealousy but I think there’s a real safety issue with motorbikes in bike lanes.

I haven’t seen this, but I probably live on the wrong side of town where there is a paucity of bike lanes. However, along Canberra Avenue between Harman and Fyshwick, you see it a fair bit in the morning peak hour. Difference is that they’re riding on the verge rather than in a marked bike lane. I ride a motorbike, and I’ve given in to the temptation to do it sometimes. I’d move back into traffic if a bicycle was in the area.

I got pulled over by two Mr Plods one morning, motorbike coppers. There was roadworks on the Monaro and traffic was very slow, with no lane markings. I slipped over to the left and was making reasonable but cautious progress when they pulled me in. They were good humoured. We shot the breeze on how car drivers don’t like bike riders much, and especially when we’re overtaking them in jams. So he waggled his finger at me for a while until he deemed enough drivers had seen me being chastised, then stopped the traffic and let me back in. He did say that the one bike that had tried to scoot away from them had been booked, but the rest had the finger waggling. Technically, he probably couldn’t book me because there were no line markings, but for me, it was good PR exercise by the police. And I’m almost reformed…

I don’t have a huge problem with them doing it. Sure, it’s illegal and cheeky. I’m jealous, and frustrated at the traffic, but not annoyed at the motorcyclists.

But if I ever heard of a cyclist getting injured as a result of one, I’ll be furious.

I wonder what they do if they come up to a cyclist? Do they go around, go back into traffic, or tailgate the cyclist until it’s safe to pass. I hope they go back into traffic.

the bike lanes are there for bicycles, it is as simple as that.