[corvus corax]

Absolutely no! As to why, please see the video.

https://youtu.be/5KljHjcQVAU

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by octavius

I've experienced that when there are two slow vehicles occupying both the lanes next to each other, the traffic gets piled up behind. It makes me nervous so close to the other vehicles and the cars trying to jostle each other to gain that extra inch.

If traffic is that slow, you shouldn't need to worry that much. The problem is when traffic suddenly slows ahead but traffic behind you is still coming at speed. You are at risk of being rear ended by an inattentive driver. In this case, and only this case, I'd say the shoulder should be used.

[sunikkat]

As a rule and general driving practice it’s a NO.
But then you have Nice road in Bangalore where these heavy trucks starts racing at 20 kmph, neither able to overtake nor allowing other vehicle to pass through. They occupy 2 to 3 lanes and at times, there will be a group of such trucks one behind another, only leaving the shoulder area for others.
This mainly from Kanakapura road entry towards Hosur Road, people familiar with these roads can definitely relate.

[anandhsub]

In Tamil Nadu bikes are supposed to ONLY use the shoulder especially on 4 lane roads. On six lane roads bikes have to use the left lane and in any case the shoulder is usually very small on such roads especially when there are separate service roads.

However these rules are meant more for the local traffic and not for the tourers and hence I guess overtaking doesn't really come into the picture.

So to put it simply. Ride slowly on the shoulder is allowed and even encouraged. Overtaking from the left using the shoulder is not. I wouldn't recommend a speed of beyond 40kmph if using the shoulder.

The biggest issue with using the shoulder is the wrong side bikers rather than any parked vehicles. Very rarely do you find stretches which is free of such wrong side riding.

[binand]

Apart from the illegality of using the shoulder as a regular lane, there is also the practical matter that the shoulder might abruptly cease to exist without any warnings (elsewhere, you do get warning boards like the "no hard shoulder for NNN yards" in the UK).

The highways I drive down south are all full of locations where the shoulder just ends at a culvert, junction, overbridge/underpass or just narrowing of the road / end of dual carriageway and you might not always be in a position to take quick action.

[ValuableRecluse]

If you're on two wheels in India, anything you do is dangerous.
But nothing is more dangerous then being in the immediate vicinity of a 4 wheeler who's egoistical driver refuses to let you overtake. The risk gets compounded with impatient drivers equipped with 4 or more wheels tailgating you.
In situations such as this i would overtake from the left or a hard shoulder if available. Provided, you have a clear view of the road/shoulder ahead, no gravel or low friction surface and the driver youre passing on the left off, knows you're there. So good time to use the GR's, Clearwater's or MadDogs and/or tap the horn. Naturally the least amount of time spent along a vehicle being overtaken is safest, so fuel price notwithstanding, twist that wrist!

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by octavius

Hi All,

Cruising on the highway on a bike, would you recommend overtaking slow moving traffic from the shoulder?...

Of course, on a 2 wheeler. I'd even say it's my fav part of the highways. Every one seems to be obsessed with the other 2 lanes and I usually find the left most place free or the safest.

I can happily cruise there most of the times. The only times to be vary are,

1. A slow moving 2 wheeler
2. Parked vehicles / slowing down to park
3. Gravel / sand on the roads
4. The shoulder suddenly narrowing down
5. Trucks running very close to the shoulder

I slow down in all these conditions and wait for a safe spot to overtake. Very rarely, I overtake the truck in close range, but after enough honking to see the truck stabilizing and not moving further left.

Another advantage is, I usually don't find any potholes whereas the other lanes have few.

[landcruiser123]

I'd say don't do it. It is simply not worth the risk. Others have already mentioned the risks. Ideally you have to wait, but we know how car drivers can get aggressive in India. Unpopular opinion here, maybe get a powerful horn that mimics a car?

[silverado]

YES, only when the speed is low and you are able to see entire lane clearly.

Classic example to use shoulder is when going to Pune from Mumbai in ghat section. You have to use it when 3 trucks are struggling to overtake each other occupying all 3 lanes.( This is a very common scenario as regular users would agree )

You need to avoid the urge to make this a habit when speeds increase.

[DDIS_RE650]

In India, you can hurt someone's ego by entering in their lane. Many a time, you see an idiot can accelerate insanely when someone try to use their lane for overtaking. You should know your ride in-terms of braking capability and acceleration capacity. You should be the best judge, this cannot be taught in any driving school or rule book.

[AirbusCapt]

Originally Posted by octavius

Hi All,

Cruising on the highway on a bike, would you recommend overtaking slow moving traffic from the shoulder?

I've experienced that when there are two slow vehicles occupying both the lanes next to each other, the traffic gets piled up behind. It makes me nervous so close to the other vehicles and the cars trying to jostle each other to gain that extra inch.

In such cases, i would prefer to quickly overtake from the shoulder to get clear from the pile up.

What does everyone else think?

Don't! Don't do it if you value your life. The trucker on the left is busy watching the trucker on the right overtake. He will even move left to give space if needed. If he doesn't have a helper, he can't see you overtake from the left. He will move left, crush you beneath him.

[drt_rdr]

Agree with the posts here saying "It's okay, but don't do it all the time."

You're not riding in India if you're not mentally ready to use every inch of the highway including the shoulders, be they tarred or dirt.

Now that the Mysore-Bangalore highway is under widening works since a couple years, I've been using the mud shoulders whenever I can to gain some ground on the rest of the traffic. I remember one time, there was a pile up so bad somewhere near Bangalore that I decided to go off the road into the wide ditch they had dug up for road-laying purposes, rode ahead of the jam and rode back up onto the highway at the traffic signal.

BUT this shoulder overtaking business is not to be taken lightly. You better be careful about whom, where, and how you overtake, and this is something you judge when you're in the situation.

The whom:
Laden trucks and government buses are usually predictable and make no fuss if they're going at a pace slow enough for overtaking. But often, I've had empty trucks, private buses, and the myriad taxi Schumachers give me trouble.

There's few feelings worse than when a vehicle that you're trying to overtake speeds up and doesn't allow you to overtake while you're wedged riding in a narrow spot between the vehicle and the railing\wall\ditch.

The where:
>From what I've experienced, the shoulders are not usually a stable place to ride, and I'm talking about tar here. Many times, there's dirt and debris collected on the edges of the tarred shoulders. One time, I banged my footpeg into a barely visible concrete brick that was jutting out from behind a railing post, but luckily, I was going slow enough to recover from the impact without difficulty. So, make sure to assess if the shoulder is rideable before you make the move. On many dirt shoulders though, you're in the wild west if you're overtaking on a roadbike.

>Pick a section that's as straight as possible for the overtake. If you need to brake quickly for any reason, you'll be much safer braking in a straight line than on a curve. If the wheels lock because of excessive brake or dirt\water under the wheels or for whatever reason, atleast you have a good chance of controlling the slide when you're going straight.

I've had a couple heart-in-mouth moments where I've had to quickly scrub off speed on a curve and the rear fishtailed while I had a railing on the left threatening to maim me if I touched it at speed.

>Pick a spot to overtake where you don't see other roads intersecting the highway, for obvious reasons.

The how:
Keep the above in mind. Of course, this is not an exhaustive guide or anything, just some things off the top of my head. There's always going to be things to be careful about and mental alertness is something you can't take for granted while on a motorcycle.

Confirm your opening, honk, flash if you need to, and proceed quickly.

Keep in mind the honk is to let them know your position, not to ask them to give way (like they will when you're in that situation ). I usually horn a couple times to alert the vehicle ahead before I make my move so that the guy isn't caught by surprise when I come up from the left.

Use your discretion and ride safe.

[SnS_12]

Our Indian road and driving conditions demand us to be super alert all the time and ready to adapt and improvise in any situation.

We all are used to people overtaking from the shoulder lane on the highway but still it does scare us every time it happens as you are the one who gets squeezed in between two car for a brief moment and can get dangerous too if the guy overtaking suddenly decides to join your lane in front of you.

I never do that in a car and only overtake traffic on my bike when all the lanes are blocked up by slow moving traffic. Its best avoided as that is where chances of picking a puncture are the highest and the truck guys can easily change their lane and throw you off. Hence, if you are overtaking a truck be it from the left or right always look at the front tyre as that will give you a heads up on which direction the driver plans to go.