I've been in that position and the police moved over to let me pass. 🤷‍♂️

Never underestimate a policeman's ability to remain wrong on any given subject, regardless of controversy.

... 'being stuck in traffic sucks - oi, you can't do that mr motocycle..!'

Seems like there was enough space so safely filter. So yeah, would have filtered on

I would have still filtered. His opinion isn't law. Shoving your arm out of the window and using the vehicle to block however is against the law.

Interesting video mate. I've filtered past hundreds of police vehicles in my 14 years of riding, half within the same lane and half oncoming. Never once had a single issue. It's incredible to me how many drivers still don't understand the road laws.

Filtered past cops a good few times. Even once in town when it was gridlock a guy on purpose angled his car so I couldn’t filter. A cop came over within 20 secs that seen it and told him to move back 😂

I think car drivers don't understand the risks Bikers face if they decide not to filter. Only a biker will know how it feels to be stopped on a motorway/dual carriageway (for example when a slip road has traffic which extends to the live carriageway). If bikers were not allowed to filter this is such a deadly scenario. I only started riding in September 2023, but have had my car license for around 2 years. I only use my duke 125 as a toy, as i never commute on it and only ride on my days off. I filter whenever possible. Not because I'm in a hurry, but because of the risk imposed (getting rammed from behind). I feel car drivers hate motorcycles filtering, becuase they get jealous. As we get home earlier. From my own personal viewpoint, in 2022 Just Stop Oil protested on the Dartford bridge. I was on my way to uni and got stuck in traffic for nearly 5 hours. I saw motorcycles filtering past, i wasn't jealous or envious. But instead thought i really should get a motorbike 😂😂😂.

I did spot you'd commented on that video, but fighting against the levels of ignorance some commenters were showing is like pushing water uphill.

I filter in London every day in gaps smaller than that! Plenty of room to do it and I would've questioned the copper as to why I couldn't.

Having seen this thumbnail, theo riginal video in question on tiktok...before even watching this one, seeing black belt barrister...and your proclivity for filtering misinformation correcttion...this is gonna be a good one xD. Grabbing the popcorn.

I really like your take on this, filtering is legal but can be grey as to what an individual feels is safe, that comes down to experience and perception. I don’t think the police officer was right or wrong, he felt a need to prevent a motorcyclist filtering and carried out his duty. Could he have explained it better? Possibly, does he need to? Not necessarily! Whatever the reasoning was, the biker was safe and he then obeyed a police officer’s instructions, move on with life and continue riding, filtering and enjoying the roads.

Working on the basis of “a good person having a bad day” they copper was frustrated sat in traffic and chose to vent at the biker. You’re right on the filtering legality with number of lanes. I posted on his video with the only thing close to a legal definition which was from a motorcycle insurer. It clearly stated from the road traffic act that filtering was “between, around or to the left or right of other road users in slow moving traffic”. I’d be interested to ask that copper why he thought it would not be safe or legal to do so. Oh and on the HGV driver (as you know from our chats before) I’d be teaching any learner to be constantly looking in the mirrors for vulnerable road users filtering and to use ALL the available space to help promote their safe passing. There is a good 18 inches to 2 feet (estimated) the lorry could have moved over to let the bike pass. No they don’t legally have to but also they are (or at least should be) a professional and in the hierarchy of road users should ensure their actions do not impact on the vulnerable road users safety.

The Police in this country are getting more like the Americans, slightest reason to have a go at a Biker, however if I had seen them I would have kept well away from them and have no interaction with them at all. On the point of filtering, if Plod wasn’t there then slowly do it. I would, my experience of 44 years riding 3 RoSPA Golds IAM member and 10 plus years Instructor experience.

I found myself in a 9 mile tailback on the A50 on Thursday due to an incident. I was NOT sitting in there for two and a half hours. I filtered all the way through that queue with my hazards on, people who knew they weren't going anywhere at any speed were moving aside to let me through. (49, 14 months on a motorbike, 45 years on the ROAD on a pushbike)

Filtering in road works yes when safe to do so , did the police officer know of something up ahead the biker didn’t & prevented him for another reason won’t know. Was there enough room yes , have I filtered past police yes , if they stopped me going past I’d not over taken. Been stopped on a motorway with literally the junction I needed in throwing distance but still had to wait 30 mins.

As a biker of more than 5 years and an everyday commuter, that is definitely enough space to filter past. I would've done it too. I also understand the copper since he's a car driver and may believe that the biker could be doing something dangerous and the quickest way to stop something dangerous from happening is to be straight to the point. Not gonna pick a side because both have a point in this situation.

i would have no problem filtering along that and have done in the past, but like you say do one vehicle at a time and under no circumstance should you pass the line of cones to get passed as these now become the edge of the carriageway.

If the cop had moved over 1ft, the bike would have 5ft of space, so in reality if it was dangerous then the cop made it so. lol

Although I am 50 I am new to motorbikes but I am aware of filtering. Can I ask in this case could he of ridden on the right side of the cones as long as it's safe to do so

I understand that they're concerned for the biker's safety and that's fair enough, but if the biker carried on, there's nothing the police could do because he's not breaking any laws, right?! I'd imagine they would do something though because they always hate being disobeyed and would love to punish you for it ;-)

From my time riding in the UK the relevant term was "if the traffic is queued and moving in lanes".

I must admit that when I first saw the video. I wouldn't have filtered last the lorries. But it's hard to truly judge the re al gap as action cameras can distort the real distance.

I HAVE BEEN RIDING FOR 33 YEARS! ( well actually 3 years when I was 16 and just got a new bike when I am 50, so 3 and half really). I agree, in this situation I would have filtered past the cars and made a decision on each lorry on space available. Even if you say its a single road overtaking is perfectly legal if safe and not crossing a solid line, so it doesn't matter if its filtering or overtaking,. I have only been back riding for 3 months after the 30 year break and I went and did some training first to make sure I am not a danger to myself or others. (didnt need to had a full licence from 17). 2 months ago I wouldnt have filtered, now I do, its all about confidence and assessment.

Filter whenever I need too, it's not appreciated by other drivers but hey, perk of riding a bike. I do smile and chuckle to myself when I see drivers moaning at me as I glide to the front of the cue.

Haven't seen the BBB video yet, but I would imagine the legal issue is not one of filtering, but of using the other lane. Is the area marked by cones just an area marked off by cones, in which case it seems fair game if you stay out of the marked area, or has the lane been closed, in which case you shouldn't use it regardless of where the cones are. A lane closure will have signs noting that on approach to the works area. If the filtering is safe I really don't think there should be an issue either way, but given that they are approaching some larger vehicles it may have been a good time to re-assess the space and risks anyway.

Hi mate, looking at doing my cbt with the guys at Thorney pretty soon mainly thanks to your channel.

police dont know the law

The phone drivers will sort of see something in front and move, distracted the MC will be hit as obscured by a pillar. avoid being crushed. Filtering is always legal as long as at 15 mph and not crossing a keep left or double white solid line. I will keep myself safe from everyone, regardless of their opinion. Egos are the issue here.

A couple of times recently a couple of cars have moved out to block my path. Dangerous.

It was more an issue of the policeman's attitude and delivery of the instruction to not proceed, regardless of the actual law. Clearly he was just pissed off being stuck in traffic, we've all been there as car drivers, but this interaction was lacking professionalism. As a new motorcyclist I'm wary of filtering but I'm sure I'll soon tire of sucking up exhaust fumes in stationary traffic and start making considered decisions to progress my journey 😅

Usually my rule for filtering is " don't fuck with a truck" however, there is room enough imo to fit by those safely, just as you said, take them carefully and one at a time, it's not like he's being ghost rider circa 2002.

TBH I feel like BBB was commenting outside his wheelhouse (maybe somewhat literally) here, and contrary to the supposed purpose of their channel did so with a whole lot of opinion, and not a whole lot of education. There was no 'these are the rules as written, and here is the case law'. I'd be *far* more interested in the opinions of someone like @whitedalton on this! For me, I don't see a problem with filtering in that scenario - much as you said, take it one vehicle at a time, take the time to assess if it's safe. I think I worked out the lorry in front was moving ~2.5 mph. Length of a lorry, if you're filtering at 10mph you're alongside for about 4 seconds at that speed? If the lorry suddenly changes direction that drastically in that time, moving at that speed, there's something weird going on. I'd be hesitant, but that's my inexperience talking - and it would likely amount to a few extra seconds to assess rather than not filtering (and what experience I do have tells me a good portion of the heavies will see me assessing and move over if they can to make it easy - ironically the drivers who get stuck the most, with the biggest consequences given their drive time limits, are the ones who seem to be least territorial about it). Final point from me, I can appreciate where you're coming from on the copper needed to communicate, not necessarily time for niceties...but there's a line between that and being rude and confrontational. IMO the copper here was over that line. He'd issued his orders RE not filtering, the 'I'll stick you on if you do, stay there' was unnecessary IMO, not to mention utterly unprofessional. Would this have been as much of a debate if he'd left it along the lines of "It's not appropriate for you to be filtering here."

I would’ve filtered but I would need that lorry to move over and acknowledged I was there. I know they don’t have to nor do I expect them to, but generally they do. I’m thinking the copper saw passing the lorry was too dodgy. Good call, but not all bikers are planks. Asssuming we all don’t have life preservation skills haha

I have filtered past police loads of times never had a problem, I think the officer was just annoyed he had to sit in traffic and by law motorcycles don’t

Next time a police motorbike filters past me I'm going to send the video to my local force asking they give words of advice 😂... what do you think they'd have done if it were a cyclist... mmmmmm

I guess the exception to the rule, is that (in the Coppers mind) the coned off road is a hazard, so that's why he's telling him not to proceed

Have bike and car, but car drivers are more likely to be bellends

If you're gonna argue with cops you're better off letting your lawyer do it in court because quarrelling with them at the side of the road is only gonna make things worse. If they don't want you filtering somewhere then fine, they have a responsibility to keep traffic flowing safely and maybe complying with their request might actually help with that.

Without watching so much more, I would hope the police were aware of an issue further up rather than just being difficult?

If the lane is closed you can't cross the white centre lines into the other lane. If the cars move over you're good to go for filtering. The officer is behaving like an inexperienced driver as with any experience you would accommodate the biker to minimise risk to them as it is a legal manoeuvre.

If there's enough room and you're comfortable, filter. Car drivers are just jealous of the fact they cant do the same! But oh well, they are probably on their phone anyway so didn't notice!

To add, i think you can overtake on solid lines as well if the traffic is 10mph or under.....i have had a copper wave me past and let me overtake at 70 on a normal A road. he put his thumb as we went past, decent copper

It's a shame that a few bad eggs, or perhaps good eggs on a bad day are now recorded and widely shared and thus tarnish the whole police force. You would think they should know better and behave as if every one of their actions were constantly audited. We all make mistakes, but this officer knew exactly what he was doing, just on a power trip.

Read the highway code. You can only filter if the traffic as stopped in your lane. As soon as as traffic starts to move, you have to stop over taking.

A lot of people are simply jealous because they believe we are jumping a queue, but where is this supposed queue going? Are we all going to the same home? 😂

Northern Ireland riders even more rare than mainland UK get this society issue aswell its not just Britain. At times im just lazy and dont bother to filter at times, but I do sometimes.

I'm not keen on filtering but my ol' Harley will melt your legs if you don't keep moving..!

That moment you notice the pirate software live stream is suggested to you. But in relation to the topic, it's no different to filtering on a bicycle and just as legal, be cautious doing it and you'll be fine.

I get so many trolls on tiktok moaning about me filtering. I love it though, it's comedy gold in the comments 😂🤘🏻

If the cop had told me "No you don't.", then my response would've been "Yes I do and you can send me a ticket if you'd like to lose in court. Bye!". Unlawful order is unlawful.

Filtering is legal? Man, someone should print that on a hoodie or something.

I mean... The alternative is waiting for EVEN MORE traffic.

Been riding bikes for three decades, as long as it’s safe, it’s okay. I would have filtered past the rozzers.

This video shows a police officer in a police car in stand still traffic with cones in the ajacent lane. He is i would assume a traffic officer on duty. Police officers have radio communication. He would know what the hold up is, possibly a near death accident with emergency services trying to save lives. He may have been instructed to keep traffic under control until the emergency has been dealt with. This is not a case of stay behind me.... Merely don't ride ahead and interfere with ambulance crews saving lives. It astounds me the entitlement of some people when they don't know the full information. The police officer had to act quickly and assertively to prevent further injury to a member of the public. Its their job.....

Yea, there's no law actually allowing you to filter. I'm not saying you can't do it, but there isn't a single law stipulating you can. What you have is a mention in highway code to take care when filtering, no law underpinning that. Like for instance parking on a crossing, which is a criminal offence and there's a specific law attached to it. In short, you are allowed to do it, but it's not "legal" or "illegal" since there's no law for it.

This video made my blood boil.

The police are only a cross section of society. There will be good ones and bad ones. It does however represent an appealing proposition for the bully. Obey the order and then submit the footage to the forces leadership. I have to be honest and say that around where I live in the southeast I find drivers remarkably decent about filtering. Knobs have always been amongst us and that won’t change any time soon. 😂

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ask a lawyer

Filtering is only legal in 6 states.