Bikes on the Motorway passing on inside lane

Villain

Ok this has been bugging me for a while, I'd like some biker's to try and explain to me why certain people on motorbikes have to pass on the inside lane of a motorway.

I see it every week and its only a matter of time before I see an accident from it. I mean I was driving on the M7 last week and I was doing 120kph in the overtaking lane overtaking traffic on the inside lane. Now there was a car in front of me doing the same speed and the next thing I know I see this biker fly's up the inside of me and then the car in front sticks on his left indicator and start to change lanes, the biker missed him by a matter of inches I reckon.

I have no problem with bikers moving up the inside when traffic is moving slowly but this guy was doing well over 120kph and I see it every week.

Can anyone explain why bikers do this and also I'm sure it must be dangerous driving as well as breaking the speed limit i.e. if the cops catch them they will be in for a few penalty points.

subway

risk vs reward.
if certain bikers want to reavel at 160 / 180 kphn then they will have to find ways to get up the road without hitting into cars.
that would generally involve underataking.
the same way cars that speed do it.

cars generally see each other as theyre big, but cars tend not to see bikes, hence eiterh waiting an age for them to move out of the overtaking lane or having them pull in front of you when they want to change lane

Interceptor

irish1 wrote:

I was doing 120kph in the overtaking lane overtaking traffic on the inside lane. Now there was a car in front of me doing the same speed and the next thing I know I see this biker fly's up the inside of me and then the car in front sticks on his left indicator and start to change lanes...

If I read this correctly, you were behind a car, in the right hand lane and had overtaken some cars and a bike took you on the inside. You are right it is dangerous, but in the absence of decent roads it is the only way to make progress and get past half asleep motorists who are daydreaming about Sally in Accounts or whatever. I was on my bike in heavy traffic and I was passed on the inside by a guy on a Pan European doing at leat 120kph between two lanes of slow moving traffic, but he looked like he did it most evenings and knew what he was doing so fair play to him.

irish1 wrote:

Can anyone explain why bikers do this and also I'm sure it must be dangerous driving as well as breaking the speed limit i.e. if the cops catch them they will be in for a few penalty points....

You are right, and it is all of the things you say, but it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Motorcycling is an alternative lifestyle, not just a way to get from a to b and some bikers will take unacceptable risks and break the law simply because it is what they do. I have never taken a car on the inside, but I will take a car on the outside while it is still in the right lane if it won't move over (you know who you are fcukers).

'cptr

Idleater

Interceptor wrote:

(you know who you are fcukers).
'cptr

Lol!

I agree, OP, how long did it take the bike to pass you?

And, more importantly, can you tell us, at what point you saw the bike?

Was it, when he was beside you? In front of you? or perhaps 100m back down the road in your mirrors so you could move safely out of the way and not be blocking other road users who happen to be able to make more progress than you are stuck in your cage?

I am willing to wager that it is not the latter.

L.

Krusty_Clown

Are you sure that your beef is with undertaking motorcyclists, or just undertaking vehicles? Travelling home this evening on the N11 (in a car), the Nissan Micra behind me felt the need to undertake me, as we approached a set of traffic lights and then squeezed his car in front of mine, narrowly missing my car and the vehicles that had already pulled up at the lights.

A kilometer further up the road, the same Micra was holding up traffic as it couldn't match motor-way speeds of 120km/hr. But this didn't prevent the young male driver from hogging the over-taking lane.

Maybe I should go post on the motors forum? Or maybe, because I drive both types of vehicle I notice that the behaviour isn't due to the vehicle, but due to the driver. ...by the way, all of the traffic ended up undertaking the Micra in order to make progress on the motorway.

The behaviour is wrong (and I'm guilty of it too) but it's not a 'biker thing'.

Georgey Burgess

i though you could pass a car while in the left hand lane if the traffic in the right hand was moving slower than you are ...albeit there are speed limits to observe aswell.

Also, just because you are doing the speed limit in the overtaking lane doesn't mean you have the right to stay in that lane, especially if another vehicle wants to 'overtake' you.

Villain

nereid wrote:

Lol!

I agree, OP, how long did it take the bike to pass you?

And, more importantly, can you tell us, at what point you saw the bike?

Was it, when he was beside you? In front of you? or perhaps 100m back down the road in your mirrors so you could move safely out of the way and not be blocking other road users who happen to be able to make more progress than you are stuck in your cage?

I am willing to wager that it is not the latter.

L.

Oh I saw him coming way back but I was overtaking slower traffic in the left lane when he got past me there was room in the left lane for the car in front to move and he indicated and done it quite slowly but he didn't see the bike coming up and obviously the biker didn't see his indicator which can happen when a bike is travelling about 140-160kph.

I totally agree that this happens with cars also but its much easier to see a car coming up the inside than a bike, especially a bike doing 140-160kph

faceman

The biker shouldnt have done it in excess of the speed limit but at the same time the drivers should be checking their mirrors constantly.

Hotblack Desiato

Georgey Burgess wrote:

i though you could pass a car while in the left hand lane if the traffic in the right hand was moving slower than you are

No - that would mean you could overtake on the left any time you felt like it. It's hard to pass someone unless they're going slower than you are

You may only pass on the left:
- in a one way street
- if the vehicle you are passing is about to turn right
- if you are about to turn left and have signalled that intention
- if traffic is moving SLOWLY in queues and your queue is moving faster than the queue to your right (this does not mean you can change lanes to pass on the left).