New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

ROAD RULES 2014 - REG 151A

151A Lane filtering between vehicles on a motor bike

(1) The rider of a motor bike is
"lane filtering" along a length of road if the rider rides the motor bike between 2 vehicles, each vehicle travelling in--

(a) the same direction as the motor bike, and

(b) separate, but adjacent, marked lanes or lines of traffic.

(2) The rider of the motor bike must not unlawfully lane filter along a length of road.

: Maximum penalty--20 penalty units.

(3) For subrule (2), it is unlawful for the rider of a motor bike to lane filter along a length of road if any of the following circumstances apply--

(a) the rider is edge filtering,

(b) the rider is riding at a speed of more than 30 kilometres per hour,

(c) the rider is riding in a school zone,

(d) a no filtering sign applies to the length of the road,

(e) it is not safe to lane filter,

(e1) the rider is not the holder of an unrestricted motor bike rider's licence.

Note : This paragraph is an additional NSW paragraph. There is no corresponding paragraph in rule 151A(3) of the Australian Road Rules .

Example of when lane filtering is not safe : A rider lane filtering between vehicles in a manner that does not seek to avoid collisions (including lane filtering between vehicles when there is insufficient clearance between those vehicles).

Note :
"Length" of road,
"motor bike" ,
"overtake" and
"traffic" are defined in the Dictionary and
"unrestricted motor bike rider's licence" is defined in subrule (6).

(4) A no filtering sign on a road applies to a length of road starting at the sign and ending at the nearer of the following--

(a) if the length of the road ends at a T-intersection or dead end--the end of the length of the road,

(b) the next end no filtering sign that is on the road.

(5) For this rule, the rider of a motor bike is
"edge filtering" along the length of a road if--

(a) the rider changes direction towards the edge of the road to pass 1 or more vehicles on the road, or

(b) the rider changes direction towards the edge of the road to pass between 2 vehicles, 1 of which is stationary.

(6) In this rule--

"end no filtering sign" means a traffic sign--

(a) with a symbol displaying a motor bike positioned between 2 vehicles with a black diagonal line across the symbol, or

(b) with a symbol positioned below the symbol mentioned in paragraph (a) displaying the word "END" in black letters.

"no filtering sign" means--

(a) a traffic sign with a symbol displaying a motor bike positioned between 2 vehicles with a red diagonal line across the symbol, or

(b) a traffic sign displaying the words "no filtering".

"unrestricted motor bike rider's licence" means an Australian driver licence (other than a provisional licence or learner licence) that authorises its holder to ride a motor bike.