Motorbike riders allowed to lane filter on South Australian roads

Lane filtering will become legal on South Australian roads from the 15 April 2017. This was announced by the Minister for Road Safety, Peter Malinauskas on 22 March 2017. Lane filtering is the practice often seen on our roads when motorcyclists take advantage of the gaps between vehicles to move forward on the road. This is not currently illegal but motorcyclists have been exposed to charges under other traffic laws for this practice. This has led to a lack of clarity for motor cyclists and SA traffic offence lawyers in mounting a defence on a range of charges. Further information about this announcement can be found by clicking the following links to articles on the ABC and InDaily.

Motorcyclists must understand the conditions to be put into place with this law.

• Traffic must be travelling no faster than 30 kph
• It must be safe to do so
• It is not permitted in school zones, school crossings, next to parked cars
• It is not permitted in bicycle, bus or tram lanes and between a vehicle and the kerb.
• Only riders holding a full licence or R-Date licence are permitted to lane filter. Provisional and learner drivers are prohibited from the practise.

The law has the cautious backing of the RAA and of the Motor Cycle Riders Association who have supported this change for a number of years. There are several reasons for their support.

• The ambiguity in the traffic law in this area will be rectified
• Motorcyclists will be less vulnerable to rear end collision which is the major type of accident on our metropolitan roads
• It will improve the traffic flow as traffic will be more compacted at the traffic lights enabling additional cars to traverse

One concern is for the safety of pedestrians who can legally cross roads where they are more than 20 metres from a crossing. Crossing between two lines of stationary cars at traffic lights will require additional caution to ensure there are no motorcyclists driving between the stationary lines.

Reports from other Australian states where this has been operating for some time indicate that these risks are lower than first thought.

Williams Barristers and Solicitors remain amongst the top traffic offence lawyers in South Australia.  You will be assured of up to date legal knowledge, long experience in defence and a superb track record in defending matters in all courts in South Australia.

Call our SA traffic offence lawyers on 08 8451 9040