Road rules for safer motorcycling

LIKE any road user, motorcyclists are required to follow the rules of the road, and after the high death toll over the 2012-2013 festive season, there have been calls for tighter restrictions on motorcyclists in an attempt to reduce the number of fatalities.

The Automobile Association of SA (AA) said one way in which this could be achieved, is through a ban on lane splitting.

Although technically legal in South Africa, lane splitting refers to a motorcyclist riding between lanes of stopped or slower vehicles to overtake and move to the front of the traffic. This means motorcyclists are often seen straddling the lanes and overtaking between cars.

Some other basic road rules that motorcyclists are required to follow include:

All wheels of the motorcycle must be in contact with the surface of the road at all times. (Sorry, no more wheelies);

Motorcycles must ride in single file on the road;

Only one motorcycle at a time may overtake another vehicle travelling in the same lane; and

While lane splitting is currently legal, motorcycles must travel within the lane lines, not on the painted lane line and not weaving back and forth between lanes or riding next to a vehicle. The only exception to this, is when overtaking.