WA motorcycle test lane use and filtering practice questions

Question 1

Where lane filtering is permitted in Western Australia, what is the maximum speed at which a rider may filter?

• 20 km/h
• 30 km/hCorrect answer
• 40 km/h
• The posted speed limit

Regulation 130B stops a rider from being a lawful filterer above 30 km/h, and it also rules out filtering where the speed limit for the area is 40 km/h or below, so a 40 km/h zone is out even at walking pace.

Rule cited: Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA), r 130B(2)(b) and (d)

Question 2

Which riders are permitted to lane filter in Western Australia?

• Any rider, including learner's permit holders
• Any licensed rider, but not a learner's permit holderCorrect answer
• Only riders over 25 years old
• Only riders on machines over 660 mL

Regulation 130B excludes a rider riding under the authority of a learner's permit and does not exclude anyone else by licence stage, which makes Western Australia the loosest of the eight on that point, since Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and New South Wales all require a full licence and Queensland requires an open one. Sidecar outfits and three wheeled machines cannot lane filter in Western Australia at all.

Rule cited: Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA), r 130B(1)(a) and (2)(k)

Question 3

May a rider filter up the inside, between the traffic and the kerb?

• Yes, if there is enough room
• No, filtering between a vehicle and the kerb or parked cars is not permittedCorrect answer
• Yes, at under 30 km/h
• Yes, in 50 km/h zones

Lane filtering in Western Australia is defined as riding between two vehicles in separate but adjacent marked lanes or lines of traffic, so going up the inside is not filtering, and the Road Safety Commission states that filtering next to the kerb or edge of the road, or alongside parked cars, is not allowed.

Rule cited: Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA), r 130B(1)(b), and Road Safety Commission, lane filtering

Question 4

Traffic is flowing at 70 km/h and a rider travels between the lines of moving vehicles. What is that?

• Permitted filtering
• Lane splitting, which is not legal anywhere in AustraliaCorrect answer
• Permitted if the rider indicates first
• Permitted on freeways

Lawful filtering is capped at 30 km/h in every jurisdiction, so riding between lines of traffic moving at 70 km/h is lane splitting and it is not permitted anywhere in Australia.

Rule cited: Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA), r 130B(2)(b)

Question 5

You and a friend are riding together. How many of you may travel side by side in the one marked lane?

• No more than two, and they must stay within 1.5 m of each otherCorrect answer
• Three, if the lane is wide enough
• As many as fit
• None, riders must always be single file

The road rules allow two riders abreast and no more, and when two abreast they must not be more than 1.5 m apart. A staggered formation is usually safer because it leaves each rider room to move.

Rule cited: Australian Road Rules, rule 151 (riding alongside another rider)