Dotting the I's

On and off I have been commuting to work using the M50 on a motorbike for just short of 9 years.

This does not make me an expert and I would leave getting instruction to the real experts but I can give a little friendly advice.
I have never crashed the bike on the M50 but I have received penalty points for my riding "style". Therefore take everything below with a grain of salt.

Traffic

The reason I use a motorbike is because of the traffic. When working in Parkwest Business Park it once took me 4 hours to travel the 27km from Swords by car. At that point I decided to change my mode of transport. I couldn't afford a helicopter so instead opted to buy a bike. This was at the time that they had started the work
to expand the M50 from 2 lanes to 3, work that would continue for years. Once the work was completed we had the happy occasion of a major recession. Combining these two facts meant that the M50 was the easiest route to commute.

Now that the economy is picking up things are back to pre-3 lane days. I regularly filter through traffic for over 10km now, both in to work and home again. Filtering is the practice of riding your motorcycle between two lines of cars. A very grey area in law. The Road Safety Authority has a note on filtering in their handbook on riding motorbikes. They took it out at one point but a number of people lobbied to have it put back in, among them the Garda traffic corp. The fact being that a motorbike is absolutely pointless unless you filter.

Filtering

What is the safest way to filter? Simple - Don't! It is not safe at all, no matter how cautious you are. You need to have, what a lot of bikers refer to as, your spidey sense. In other words you need to develop an almost superhuman ability to predict what is going to happen around you. Don't worry if you don't have it now because you can develop it. It only takes about two years!! What does this superhuman power do for you? Simple things really, like that when a car moves to one side of their lane they are most probably going to change lanes. Don't take that for granted though. You wait for a second and see if they move to the other side of the lane. If they do then you know that they are not going to change lanes but are, in fact, texting somebody on their phone.

One simple rule for filtering is do it slowly. The advice I have seen is never do it at over 30kph and always make sure you are not travelling more than 5kph faster than the traffic around you. I may on occasion exceed those limits but the logic still applies. If you go fast through two lines of cars you are not giving the cars in front of you time to see you in their mirrors. If you have a collision while filtering remember it is your fault. This is not a point of law but a simple fact. You are in full control of the motorbike. The driver of the 4 wheeled vehicle is not aware that vehicles will drive between the two lanes. Bikes are so rare that it is easy for them to get a fright when a bike passes. Therefore you are the one responsible.

I like the US army rangers mantra and apply it to biking "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast".

Controlling the Bike

This is hard to convey as everyone has a different style. I have seen some people advising to keep the brake covered at all times. However I find it much more beneficial to cover the clutch. I also ensure I am in a gear higher than I need. What I aim for is no harsh braking or acceleration, both of which can get you into trouble. Do use your back brake all the time. The amount of trucks on the road that leak diesel is hard to fathom. They must get the stuff for nothing. Any seasoned biker will tell you that they fear diesel much more than ice. Ice is predictable. Diesel is not and it is just as lethal. If you hit a spot of diesel when braking then the front brake is going to get you into trouble. It is far easier to get the bike back under control with the back brake applied.

Road Position

The RSA and Gardai number the lanes with Lane 1 always being the very inside lane. On the M50 we have 3 lanes so they are inside #1, middle #2 and outside #3. When filtering I always filter between lane #2 and #3. This is for a number of reasons. The first is that lane #1 is often empty and therefore very dangerous, see Crossing the Streams below. You also have the situation where someone in lane 3 realises very late that their exit has come up quicker than they thought and will pull across two lanes with little or no caution. Traffic joining the motorway will also do so with little regard for what is in Lane 1 already. A lot of people have the thought in their head that, legally, everyone on the motorway must yield to them! 

There also seems to be a culture that Lane 1 is for wimps. Nobody wants to be in Lane 1 and will move quickly into Lane 2 to avoid the embarrassment of being called a Granny. This means that between joiners and exiters the line between Lane 1 and 2 is the most dangerous.

Lane 3 tends to be the most stable. it is generally full and the people in it have, for the most part, a religious belief that if they let someone go into the gap in front of them they will burn in Hell for eternity. Therefore the line between lane 2 and 3 is the safest in my experience. But don't get cocky, it is still dangerous.

Mind the Gap

When filtering there are two occasions that can be really dangerous. The first is when you have a car driver who is leaving a large gap between their car and the vehicle in front. No harm in them being cautious but for us it is lethal. 

Nature abhors a vacuum and so do car drivers. If somebody in the next lane sees the gap they may pull into that lane in order to gain a perceived advantage over the rest of the traffic. 

The danger to you is they may see the car in the other lane but not see you or notice you coming up between the two lines of cars and put you in serious danger of being side-swiped!

How to counter? When reaching the gap pull into it and stay to the side away from the traffic. If it is the middle lane be aware that traffic may pull into the gap from either lane 1 or 3. I will always pause before entering a gap and when I am sure everyone has had time to see me then I will move into and across the gap as quickly as possible.

Crossing the Streams

The second most dangerous scenario is when you are between two lines of traffic and one starts to move a little faster than the line beside it. Motorists are fierce jealous and will quickly get irate if the line beside them seems to have an advantage over the line they are in. They will change lanes with little or no caution and barely look for a gap let alone a motorcyclist. Some will go even when they see there is no gap and bully their way into the moving line.
For me this is the most dangerous scenario. If you end up in this scenario move out of the filtering line and into the moving traffic until both lines are stationary or moving at the same slow speed.

Other Bikes

Not really a danger but do be aware of them. All of the danger to you will be in front of you. I only check my mirrors infrequently or if I am changing road position. It does happen that on occasion that you will see a bike close behind

you. At the earliest and safest opportunity move into a gap in traffic to let the other biker get by you. You don't need the pressure of knowing there is somebody right behind you, spurring you on to ride outside your comfort zone.

If you come up behind somebody else who is holding you up then don't ride two inches from their rear wheel. Give them plenty of space and convey to them that there is no rush. This can be frustrating but you do not want to push someone into doing something that could see them getting killed or seriously injured. Even if they hold you up for the entire 28km of your commute, Mr vStrom, February 23rd, southbound in the morning! #JustSaying

You may also come across a biker who uses the line between lane 1 and 2. This can be dangerous for you if they are ahead of you. Good mannered motorists may see them and pull over a little bit to let them pass safely. If you are between lane 2 and 3 this means problems for you because as they let them by they are in fact closing the gap for you. I don't advise switching to their line. I have spent years training the motorists where to find me and don't want to have to train them again. It is also extremely unfair to motorists for them to have to worry about bikes passing them on either side.

The other one to watch is the bike joining the motorway ahead of you. They will slow up when they hit traffic and immediately move to the line between lane 2 and 3. Guess what? They are like other road users and will not expect you to be there! Getting side swiped by another bike is real possibility. Allow them time to get into the line safely.

Hold your tongue

I would advise that the only interaction you should ever have with another road user is a positive one. A little wave for them giving you a bit of room. Do not get angry if someone pulls across you. THEY DID NOT SEE YOU.
It is a proven fact that while a motorist may actually look directly at you, their brain does not register the fact that you are there. You are in fact invisible to most. This is indicative that in two vehicle collisions involving a bike the cause is, 60% of the time, a SMIDSY - Sorry Mate I Didn't See You
The other point is that bikers are few in number. Take out your anger on a motorist and all they see is that a biker did something wrong. They may vent their reaction on another innocent biker at some point in the future.
So keep it to a wave, or a thumbs up or my favourite - sticking a leg out.

The Guards

The Garda Síochána is the national police force of the Republic of Ireland and
are commonly referred to as The Guards. I have the height of respect for the Gardaí and in particular the Traffic corp. 

If you get stopped then you did something wrong. So be respectful and mannerly and take it on the chin. Pay the fine and take the points and move on. 

I know from my dealings with the Guards, particularly Traffic corps, that they see their function as being one of saving lives, your life! 

Other Road users

Here are a few simple tips for other road users both on the M50 and in general. That UK campaign of "look Once, Look Twice, Think Bike" really nails it. Simply be aware that there are bikes on the road and watch out for them. I am not asking that you give them special dispensation for hooligan behaviour, I am asking that you just SEE them.

On the M50 be aware in slow moving traffic that there may be a bike filtering and allow for it before you change lanes.

If you pull over to let a bike by then thank you very much. However be aware that you don't have to pull over very much. A couple of inches is normally plenty for the bike to pass safely. I have seen cars pull so far over that they were in danger of hitting the central concrete barrier. Too much guys, way too much.

If you get a fright when a bike passes do not react by pulling over quickly to one side. If he or she is passing then they already calculated they had enough room and swerving is not necessary.

A number of years ago I came across situations where cars would deliberately block a bike but for some reason that seems to be a thing of the past as it has not happened in years.

Remember: You are not competing with bikes. They will never delay you. If the biker took a car instead then congestion would be even worse. So thank the bikers for making traffic a little easier. They are out in all weathers, freezing cold or soaking wet. They will never have a phone stuck to their face while driving. They will never apply make-up when driving. They will never turn around to give the kids a slap. They will never look down to change the radio station or plug in their phone. Cut them a little slack.

To Trucks: Thank you. You are, for the most part, the most tolerant, mannerly and aware drivers on the M50. Regularly, trucks will move those couple of inches to allow us pass. Or they will simply not move when traffic starts moving to allow you negotiate safely past them. 

Useful References

This is your bike The excellent guide including advice on filtering.

The Rules of the Road In the learner section but everyone should read it - frequently!

Driving on Motorways - A good guide from the RSA

Funny article on Filtering or as they call it in the States Lane Splitting

Good guide from the UK, echoes much of what I have said here.

and Finally

Why is the blog called "Dotting the I's"? because I bloody hate the cats eyes on the M50. Higher than most although not the worse that I have come across. Absolutely lethal in the wet. Accelerate in the wet and hit one and the bike can be thrown around a bit. Not fun at all but frequently hit because of where I live on the M50!