Victorian government rejects filtering

The ruling Coalition in Victoria has poured cold water on a proposal to allow riders to filter through traffic, following a promise made by the Labor opposition that it will introduce legislation to make it happen if it wins this November’s state election.

State Transport Minister Terry Mulder said he could not endorse something that had led to deaths on the roads, citing three deaths on roads attributable to the practice between 2000 and 2011.

“Given the fact it's proven to have killed people in the past, I'm not sure how many seriously injured, I couldn't on the back of that recommend that practice,” Mr Mulder said.

The 2012 parliamentary enquiry into motorcycle safety (HERE) recommended that “the benefits and risks of filtering, as distinct from lane splitting, be reviewed with the aim of introducing filtering in Victoria:

Labor roads spokesman, Luke Donnellan said the move would be a "win-win for everybody".

"We think it's time for the Government to act, so we're jumping on the front foot and saying let's get moving," he said. "This reduces congestion, increases safety for motorbike riders.

"They do it in New South Wales, they do it in many other places around the world, there's enough studies so... in our eyes it's ready to go."

Mr Donnellan said other drivers should not be concerned about motorcyclists weaving around them.

"This would be when drivers have come to a standstill, so I can't imagine too many drivers would be too concerned about someone moving around them," Mr Donnellan told the ABC.

"I could understand if people were concerned if they were moving through and their cars were moving at the same time, but that's not how it's being implemented."

Filtering will become legal in New South Wales from July 1, 2014, while Queensland has just begun asking the question in a DISCUSSION PAPER.