In France, that is
Extract from the french motorcycle press:
The verdict is set in stone. The Ministry of Transport has decided that filtering between lanes of traffic is a prohibited practice.
"Riding between traffic lanes is a grey area in legal terms" explained Catherine Herviou, legal co-ordinator for the French Motorcycle Federation, "so the police are now interpreting certain traffic rules in order to stamp out the practice. On trunk roads and motorways, filtering has recently been classified as undertaking, which attracts a 135 euro fine, three penalty points and a possible ban of up to three years. It is clear that filtering urgently needs to be given a proper legal status"
Filtering has always been tolerated by french motorists, albeit subject to sporadic law enforcement. In June, the CRS nicked over 60 riders who were filtering on the A4 motorway outside Paris. In response, around 400 local bikers staged a hour long demonstration at a nearby motorway toll booth, holding up the barriers and handing out protest information leaflets to 4,000 motorists who were then able to go through without paying.
The demo organisers explained "If filtering was made fully legal, it could be incorporated into driver/rider training. That way, drivers would take more notice of the presence of bikes and riders would learn to ride more carefully between traffic lanes.
Various propositions have been put forward, from riders who reckon that 50km/h between lanes must be practical, to training schools who feel that any speed differential between bikes and cars should not exceed 20km/h.
The transport ministry has received all of these propositions but prefers to preserve the current vague legal situation, an attitude which has satisfied no-one.
Whaddya mean, its only Saturday?
