Freeway Passing

PASSING ON A FREEWAY INTO
A FASTER LANE

As a group, it can be difficult to pass a slow moving car on any road with two or more lanes of same-direction traffic.  This is especially true with moderate to heavy traffic.  Often there is not enough room for the entire group to get between cars in the faster lane.

The way to accomplish this is for the last bike to pull over one lane to the left and hold his position.   Each rider should move to the left lane as the cars in front of the rear biker pass them.  You can then pass the slow car as a group after the lead rider moves to the left lane.

The lead  rider should move back to the right lane after passing the slow car by a safe distance.  It is very important that the lead rider maintain speed to make room for all the other riders.  Each rider should move back to the right lane one at a time once safely cleared the slow car.  This can be a real slick choreographed move for other motorists to observe.

 

 

PASSING ON A FREEWAY INTO
A SLOWER LANE

During a lane change into a lane moving slower than the group (usually to the right), the FRONT bike moves over first.  Now, what do the rest of the bikes do? Legally, if the whole group moves like a "brick" (everyone changing lane together in one movement), that is considered to be parading and can cause problems if any emergency arises. Also, if you remember from your MSF classes, you learned that you and you alone are responsible for your own safety. So, if each bike individually changes lanes in order following the first bike to change lanes (whether from the front or the back), you can reduce your risk factor, change lanes legally, and still look REAL GOOD while doing the maneuver!

It is important that the lead and tailing bikers talk to each other before the ride and come to an agreement on how they intend to pass cars.