Bit of a disagreement here between the wife and I (oh and the MIL who’s a bit sour even on a good day but that’s a different story.

Is there anything in the Highway Code that says cyclists are not allowed to filter up the inside of stationary traffic?

Obviously there are times when you just wouldn’t want to do it (like up the inside of a bus indicating to turn left at the front of a set of traffic lights) but is there anything in the Highway Code?

Ive never seen that it says you cannot.

It does say that Motorcyclists can filter when safe to do so.

Where are cycle lanes painted…..? 🙄

but is there anything in the Highway Code?

Not as far as I know. It’s safer filtering on the outside of cars IMO though.

Isn’t that commonly known as “overtaking”? 🙂

You’re right though – I prefer to pass on the outside where possible. It does mean having to be aware of lights changing and traffic moving off so you can nip back in line if required.

I believe there is reference to not filtering on the inside of vehicles indicating left.

Simple answer, no, there’s no rule against it. However, if you get knocked off, the fact that you were filtering may be argued to reduce any claim that you make against the driver.

You’ve not broken any specific laws but it can have an impact in a civil claim.

I used to be a motorcycle instructor and used to work writing traffic regulation orders for a local authority. I’m not claiming to be an expert, but I know a bit on the subject.

Ultimately you’re overtaking.

“only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so”

From here: https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-159-to-203/overtaking-162-to-169

Cycle lanes / specialist markings aside, you’re a vehicle like any other and the same rules apply…

Good so it’s not ‘undertaking’ and therefore wrong so that argument is flawed. But the air of dissaproval on the subject emenating from my left is still very uncomfortable.

I’m comuting again in and out of London following a lay off to mend a broken arm (not road riding) and am pretty concerned about filtering too much, especially larger vehicles and more especially close to the front of the queue. What is legal and what is advisable are two different things.

72 is the rule relating to not filtering past traffic indicating or slowing down to turn left.

211 is a rule reminding drivers to look out for cyclists and motorcyclists on the inside of traffic you are turning across. This also refers to cyclists filtering and overtaking, clearly defining the two as separate things. What isn’t clear is whether filtering applies only to multi lane traffic.

I ride regularly in London and I only ever filter on the left if the traffic is totally stationary and no chance of anything moving – which is rarely.
As per SimonDBarnes ^^ I think overtaking on the right is safer. As a driver I know I look in my right hand mirror far more than I look in the left – I think drivers have a better chance of seeing me if I’m on their right

Wonder if this will go on as long as the last thread..

I was speaking to my brother in law who is a lawyer. He has said that the highway code is really for motorized road users and for cyclists excluding motorcyclists its there pretty much as a guideline and could be argued successfully in court.
I asked him if he wanted to give it a try.
He didnt 😆

Obviously not a very good one.

I think it’s ok legally but I rarely do it. As above if there’s a lot of stationary traffic then I use the right. If its just a brief stop at lights say with a few vehicles in front I will just wait my turn in the queue.

Filtering isn’t the same as overtaking on the inside. Filtering is perfectly legal, however may not always be safe. However it is not legal to pass the first car waiting at the lights, nor go beyond the solid white line. (ASLs and feeder lanes being different… but horrible things.)

It doesn’t seem to matter which side you filter, the very act of overtaking stationary cars seems to totally enrage some drivers. After working my way to the front of the queue the other night, one guy overtook me so fast I genuinely thought he was going to pile straight into the back of the next queue of traffic. Needless to say, I overtook him…again.

I also had a young lady in a Ford Ka join me in the cycle box at a set of traffic lights. Needles to say, she was first away at the start of the Commuter Grand Prix.

Save yourself a load of grief and tell her she`s right!!!

usually wait in the line of traffic as not in a rush and it makes you look less like an impatient arsehole

usually wait in the line of traffic as not in a rush and it makes you look less like an impatient arsehole

Impatience would be cutting people up, jumping red lights etc. Nothing wrong with filtering if there is space and it is safe to do so. Why make the queue longer than it needs to be?

What is legal and what is advisable are two different things

+1.

Filtering on the left in single lane traffic generally involves squeezing down the gutter, over drain covers etc, in a space where motorists are even less likely to see you than if you are overtaking on the right.

I favour ‘leapfrogging’ in stationary/slow traffic – pull out onto the over side of the road when it’s clear, pull back in for oncoming traffic, repeat.

“Why make the queue longer than it needs to be?“

Because sitting behind a car/lorry rather than alongside it is much safer. Partly because you’re clearly visible but also because you have control over your positioning when the traffic moves off. We all know it’s unsafe for cars to pass bicycles within the same lane, so why sit alongside a car and make that an inevitability?

Personally I only filter if it’s actually going to save me time – if I know I’ll get through on the next phase of lights then I generally don’t bother. (Though on routes with very high density of traffic lights things pan out a little differently.)

Because sitting behind a car/lorry rather than alongside it is much safer. Partly because you’re clearly visible but also because you have control over your positioning when the traffic moves off. We all know it’s unsafe for cars to pass bicycles within the same lane, so why sit alongside a car and make that an inevitability?

Personally I only filter if it’s actually going to save me time – if I know I’ll get through on the next phase of lights then I generally don’t bother. (Though on routes with very high density of traffic lights things pan out a little differently.)

In which case you’re not making the queue longer than necessary, because it would be unsafe to filter.

I do the same as you – filter when I know it’s safe to do so and will save me time.

I will just wait my turn in the queue.

Molgrips, is that you?? 😉

usually wait in the line of traffic as not in a rush and it makes you look less like an impatient arsehole

I am 100% for making sure I don’t look like an impatient arsehole, because the people that i’ve just gone past are sitting in 4-wheeled weapons. However, sitting in queues when it’s perfectly safe to filter is a complete waste of time IMHO.

One of the reasons I like riding to work is that i can do it in two thirds of the time. 🙂

EDIT: This sums it up for me:

Personally I only filter if it’s actually going to save me time

This:

It doesn’t seem to matter which side you filter, the very act of overtaking stationary cars seems to totally enrage some drivers.

Plus this:

However, sitting in queues when it’s perfectly safe to filter is a complete waste of time IMHO. One of the reasons I like riding to work is that i can do it in two thirds of the time.

Is why we had the argument.

“It doesn’t seem to matter which side you filter, the very act of overtaking stationary cars seems to totally enrage some drivers.“

Well, being on a bicycle will enrage some drivers, so, whatever… But IME (from both sides of the fence) a cyclist is a little more likely to be seen by a driver if they’re passing to the outside.

Dyno lights help, I think. Whenever I’m rolling I’m shining, and I think a little twinkle in the offside door mirror can catch the eye, whereas the nearside mirror is too far from the driver’s main field of view to have the same effect. (I’m hypothesising/pontificating, but it’s a theory I’ve got a little confidence in.)

Passing to the outside also makes it more obvious to the cyclist that it’s only really safe to do so if you know you can can find a place to return into the queue before the traffic starts to move. The same is really true of passing on the inside.

Are cars allowed to filter on the inside? Was in a line of traffic yesterday stopped at lights, with a row of three or four empty parking spaces on my left when the car a couple behind me swooped off the left and drove through the spaces to the front most.
I had my indicator on to grab a space as the line moved off, nearly drove into the side of him.

Here’s another one. I was overtaken in a 40 zone earlier and the guy pulled right tight into the kerb up ahead after passing me (lights changed to red) so I ended up ‘filtering’ past stationary cars to their right and then pulling back in front of the car that pulled tight into the kerb. I am 100% sure he did it on purpose so I wouldn’t be slowing him down over the next piece of road.

Anyways, he sounded the horn as I rolled in front of his stationary car. I’m still not sure if I’m in the right. If everything was moving then it’s obviously a dangerous illegal move but is there any problem with this?

At the next roundabout I shoulder checked, indicated and positioned myself on the right side of the road and we had words. He called me a maniac and I told him that I was filtering stationary traffic (didn’t mention that he burnt past me and drew to a halt nearly tearing his rims on the kerb)

Any laws on this at all?

People do that all the time on my commute, see you coming behind, then they pull right over tight to the kerb. Twunts.

I’ve never thought about why, but cyclists moving to the front of a stationary line of traffic is usually extremely irritating, and that’s coming from a cyclist. Anyone who claims that they’re unaware that this is the general feeling of drivers isn’t trying to see the drivers point of view too much.

I’m not commentating on whether its legal, or safe. Just that I don’t think there is any argument that, rightly or wrongly, it is very irritating to car drivers.

The boxes for bikes at lights, they have a often have a little extended bit on the far left. Looks like it’s there so you can filter up the left, where you enter the box, then position yourself where you need to be within the box.

And yeah, people deliberately block off the filtering space all the same. If there’s no one on the pavement I just bunny hop up the kerb and pass them that way. But I know that won’t make me popular with anyone…

irritating because the driver feels superior is that it ?

the roads i use for my commute have the cycle lanes up the inside – ive had people actually move into the cycle lane as im come up to block me off… i have no time for cocks like that , they get both barrels as i go up the RHS

if the roads not got a cycle lane and its stationary traffic (which in aberdeen can generally be queues of miles – esp dyce at night) ill go up the RHS before i go anywhere near the LHS.

I’ve never thought about why, but cyclists moving to the front of a stationary line of traffic is usually extremely irritating

If you look at the road infrastructure e.g.cycle lanes, they’re on the inside of the traffic, and bike boxes are at the front of where the stationary traffic sits.

Surely this suggests that cyclists are expected/encouraged to filter to the front, and past the stationary traffic don’t you think?

People in cars may well find it irritating but that might simply be because they’re ignorant of the way the road has been designed, or lack empathy with other road users, rather than being justified in their irritation… maybe they need to grow up a little rather than getting angry at other road users…

IME as a driver, the only reason a cyclist filtering is at all a problem for me is I’m stuck going nowhere in a cloud of other peoples’ carbon monoxide! I suspect that might be the source of the irritation…

it is very irritating to car drivers.

Poor wee lambs are so important that sitting for a few seconds behind a cyclist will ruin their day 🙁

He wasn’t impressed with me using the door of his A3 to balance on while I told him that I was filtering stationary traffic. The keys were just a reach away too. Could have swiped them and placed them on a bollard in his sight :O)

Interesting debate

I cycled in traffic for the first time in ages yesterday. I’d forgotten how much I hate squeezing down the inside. I always thought it was naughty but it seems that its not.

I’m sure that cyclist moving to the front in queues is the intention hence the boxes at the front. the thinking being that its safest for all if the bike is in site. The had a interesting section on the cycle show about this

many of the ASL seen on the UK roads seem to indicate that filtering on the left is correct procedure?

of course this is the reality of the ASL in the UK

As both a cyclist and a driver, it still royally riles me when a cyclist squeezes ahead at a junction, then grinds off at the pace of a tortoise ensuring that all the the cars hes just jumped past are stuck behind him.