Been filtering through traffic during rush hour | GTAMotorcycle.com

Been filtering through traffic during rush hour

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elton_t

Well-known member
<embed id="xunlei_com_thunder_helper_plugin_d462f475-c18e-46be-bd10-327458d045bd" type="application/thunder_download_plugin" height="0" width="0">I live on Yonge and during rush hour the traffic is really bad. When I hit a red stop light in front of me, I always filter through the traffic as if I am living in Europe. I don't give a damn what the cagers think, nobody had try to 'blocked' me before but I got honked at once.:lmao:

My question is if I get caught doing this completely reasonable and responsible act of filtering through traffic at a stop light, what kind of conviction would I likely be charged here in Toronto? What will be the fines and points?

PS: I only do it during rush hour (ie. when there are long traffic lines), I NEVER do it on any highway!

thx
 
the go to charge seems to be HTA S.154 (1)(a) - Failed to drive in marked lane

3 demerit points and $110 fine ($150 in Community Safety Zones)
Where highway divided into lanes
154. (1) Where a highway has been divided into clearly marked lanes for traffic,
(a) a vehicle shall be driven as nearly as may be practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety;
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http://www.wheels.ca/feature/why-lane-splitting-in-a-motorcycle-is-just-asking-for-trouble/

thestar wrote about lane-splitting, a rep from the MTO says that depending on the situation you could also get these charges

Section 130 (careless driving);
Section 135 (yield to traffic from the right);
Section 136 (stop signs);
Section 138 (yield signs);
Section 140 (pedestrian crosswalks);
Section 141 (turns at intersections);
Section 142 (signalling turns);
Section 144 (traffic control signals);
Section 148 (overtaking and passing);
Section 150 (turning and passing on the right); and
Section 154 (marked lanes).

Set Fines
http://www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/how-do-i/set-fines/set-fines-i/schedule-43/
Victim Surcharge
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_000161_e.htm

Fine = Set Fine + Victim Surcharge + $5 Court Fee

Demerit Points
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_940339_e.htm
 
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elton_t said:
My question is if I get caught doing this completely reasonable and responsible act of filtering through traffic at a stop light, what kind of conviction would I likely be charged here in Toronto? What will be the fines and points?

PS: I only do it during rush hour (ie. when there are long traffic lines), I NEVER do it on any highway!

thx
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Curious...why did you feel the need to add this in?
 
JFD said:
Curious...why did you feel the need to add this in?
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Because it justifies the action! I'm always tempted, but honestly for me it's not worth the potential to get a ticket and points and insurance increase and all the other BS that goes with it.
 
Why not just explain what you told us to the police officer if you get pulled over.

They are completely reasonable and responsible people and will act accordingly.
 
You could also potentially get run over. I filtered to the right in a wide lane yesterday that had vehicles waiting at a red light. The woman at the front of the line got seriously ****** at me and ran me off the road. She tried to "race" me to get across the intersection first so I couldn't pass her. She of course couldn't, because I'm on a motorcycle..... So she absolutely lost her ****, floored it and passed my in my (now narrow) lane forcing me to the curb. Very dangerous stuff. In light of certain other events (see my post about my phone call I received), I actually went up to try to apologize to her. The woman was absolutely furious, and I don't expect the other traffic had much sympathy for me.
 
I do not filter as I view it as too dangerous. Hard enough riding city steets without adding this dimension to the ride.
 
bakaboy said:
I do not filter as I view it as too dangerous. Hard enough riding city steets without adding this dimension to the ride.
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Ive been in two accidents to date. Both on the bike, both times got rear-ended by a car while I was at full stop. I wouldnt be rear ended if I filtered.

So, both cases have pros and cons on their own.

1 thing for sure, cagers drive a looooot more careful when there are motorcyclists filtering around. People in California actually do a blind spot check before changing lanes.
 
Baggsy said:
Why not just explain what you told us to the police officer if you get pulled over.

They are completely reasonable and responsible people and will act accordingly.
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lol
 
Ugur Dinch said:
Ive been in two accidents to date. Both on the bike, both times got rear-ended by a car while I was at full stop. I wouldnt be rear ended if I filtered.

So, both cases have pros and cons on their own.

1 thing for sure, cagers drive a looooot more careful when there are motorcyclists filtering around. People in California actually do a blind spot check before changing lanes.
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Not always...brother got knocked off his bike in the UK when he was filtering, court case ruled in his favour but it took a while to sort it all out.
 
I got a ticket for filtering, my license plate was visible so I had to stop - Cop said that he could charge me with Section 130 (careless driving), we had a good chat about it and he end up charging me with HTA S.154 (1)(a) - Failed to drive in marked lane.

Went to court just a couple of weeks ago, he never showed up as he said he wouldn't so the charge was dismissed.

Filtering is a charge you get not because a cop is standing behind a tree at a determined area waiting for someone to do something wrong, but because you happen to do it in front of a unmarked cop car (like in my case) or you were seen doing it just for bad luck (do it often and eventually a cop is going to see you), in this cases the cop most likely won't show up to court unless you were a dick to them, then he will make a point of going.

My advice is, go to court, keep an eye open to see if the cop showed up or not, if he didn't then you are good to go, if he does, come prepared with an excuse for an adjournment and contact red line.

Just my opinion from my experience, not to be taken as legal advice
 
Ugur Dinch said:
Ive been in two accidents to date. Both on the bike, both times got rear-ended by a car while I was at full stop. I wouldnt be rear ended if I filtered.
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If no one was behind you at a stop and you're waiting, wouldn't it be a good idea to be in gear and watching you mirrors for the car coming up behind you?
 
JFD said:
If no one was behind you at a stop and you're waiting, wouldn't it be a good idea to be in gear and watching you mirrors for the car coming up behind you?
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99% of the time I put my bike in neutral at a stop light, basically whenever I am stopped I put it in neutral, I try to stay as relax as I could on the bike.<embed id="xunlei_com_thunder_helper_plugin_d462f475-c18e-46be-bd10-327458d045bd" type="application/thunder_download_plugin" height="0" width="0">

Since it is a Ninja, there is no issue of not going into 1st from neutral, like it would occasionally happen on a CBR250R<embed id="xunlei_com_thunder_helper_plugin_d462f475-c18e-46be-bd10-327458d045bd" type="application/thunder_download_plugin" height="0" width="0">
 
<embed id="xunlei_com_thunder_helper_plugin_d462f475-c18e-46be-bd10-327458d045bd" type="application/thunder_download_plugin" height="0" width="0">Honestly, after reading all of your valuable comments. I dont know what to say... living in a city that has no good roads, bike insurance is insanely expensive, outdated traffic laws and we have snowy winter. WHY do we still ride a bike. Most people would agree the pleasure of freedom is why we ride bike, but if all these idiotic systems are in place, where the hell can we get freedom from.

There are so many people who rides bike in Toronto, yet there is no privilege for us, this country dont think small population. They waste money on everything and dont spend wisely to benefit everyone!
 
i filter downtown traffic quite often, mostly on the super hot days when im boiling in my gear. I've never been stopped for it and at least two or three times a cop has seen me do it and did nothing about it. As long as you do it in a calm way that doesn't look dangerous you're more likely to get away with it. But really it can also come down to the cop. But from all the threads i've read on the HTA site and people i've spoken to, they all seem to get "failed to drive in a marked lane" which i believe is 3 points. Anyway most of them got the charges dropped.
 
I only filter if i'm running very late, or if it's a side street.
Occasionally I split on the highway in the morning, but in my first year of riding I saw a motorcycle cop pull over a guy filtering on the gardiner. After that I don't really take too many chances. From what i've read, you can filter if the lane has parked cars (inactive lane).
 
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