Lane Splitting

Advice and Guidelines for Bikers from the Experts:

- Gert-Willem Swart

With rising fuel prices and traffic congestion more road users are looking towards alternative transport to get them to and from work. We have seen an increase in the numbers of motorcycles on our roads, but so too unfortunately also an increase in the number of bike crashes.

As many collisions occur when bikers share the roads and perform “lane splitting” we decided to approach our Motorbike expert –Hein Jonker from Bike Talk and ask his advice on when to do this, how to do it and when rather to avoid!

Lane splitting in a safe and prudent manner is not illegal in South Africa. Here are a few guidelines to help you as a motorcyclist in executing a lane split safely, and to help the motorist understand why we do it.

What is Lane Splitting?

The term lane splitting, sometimes known as lane sharing, filtering or white lining, refers to the process of a motorcyclist riding between lanes of stopped or slower moving traffic or moving between lanes to the front of traffic stopped at a traffic light. Motorcyclists, who are competent enough riders to lane split, should follow these general guidelines if choosing to lane split:

• Travel at a speed that is no more than 20 km/h faster than other traffic – danger increases at higher speed differentials. A speed differential of 20 km/h or less allows an alert, competent rider enough time to identify and react to most dangerous situations that can occur. The greater the speed differential, the less time a rider has to identify and react to a hazard.