White Lines

[Bender]

33 minutes ago, Davidtav said:

Yeah. I will filter past traffic. But I won’t cross the central line before a bend. I accept it’s probably legal. But not for me

Road position is entirely down to you, road conditions, how far you can see and what your comfortable with. 

 

As long as your happy riding the way you want that's all that matters. 

 

 

[Capt Sisko]

On 13/01/2023 at 10:16, daveinlim said:

 

On my commute when traffic is stopped, I've been filtering down this type of road marking. I was always only 90% sure it was legal as the lines are not solid. I've filtered past a few police cars and they never did anything so just assumed it is ok. Happy now someone has confirmed it's alright 

Whilst what you are doing is perfectly legal, someone at highways/council/police or wherever decides what type of white lines go where has identified that bit of road has a 'problem' and their solution is to paint a separator on the road. This not only ticks their 'we've done something about it' box, but also serves as visual reminder to drivers that this road has a 'problem' and that due caution should be applied. Now should you be involved in an accident in that hatched area, the fact that you chose to ignore the said visual warning could possibly lead to a Due Care & Attention rap (defined under law as; Driving that falls below the standard expected of a competent driver; or. Driving that does not show reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or pathways).  On a similar note, should the 3rd parties insurance company successfully argue that you, by choosing to put yourself into the danger zone, that you are part responsible for the accident and you may get a reduced payout. They're bast*rd's, but that how insurance companies think. The last bit is purely practical. Because that hatched area doesn't get regular use it accumulates road detritus and things that may give you a puncture. All that said, I still ride down the middle!

[Pie man]

On 11/01/2023 at 23:53, bonio said:

The was a law case some years back following an accident where a guy on a bike was hit by an oncoming vehicle. Might have been a van. The biker was injured, and the case came to law to settle the liability. The thing that made the case memorable was that although the vehicle had come over the (broken) white line onto the biker's side of the road, the biker was found to be partially liable, and had to bear a part of the costs, because he had taken up a position near the white line - even though he hadn't actually crossed it. The biker had to admit in court that it would have been safer if he'd stayed in the centre of his lane.

 

So when it comes to the law, you're liable if you do something that compromises safety, and this regard it doesn't matter much which side of the line you are. 

That's lawyers being the twats they are. The industry needs more regulating.