lane splitting

[Electrojake]

My luggaged DL1000 handles like a barge.
. . .But if I had a small, fast, KTM and a set of 316-SS balls... 

[1034am]

And those (fog) lines on the road lack grip. They are much more slippery than the blacktop. Wiped out a few times on it...

[Redclayrider]

 Title of the tread is "lane splitting" and the first video is some nut?

Lane splitting and filtering (moving between stopped cars/trucks at an intersection) is a safe way to maneuver in traffic if done correctly. While legal only in California in the U.S. both lane splitting and filtering are legal in most of the world. It actually helps keep traffic moving, cuts down on congestion, and when done correctly, safe for the motorcyclist.

A video of how to lane split in a safe manner;

When I lived in California I did it all the time and had fewer "close calls" than when I have lived elsewhere. 

I wish it was legal everywhere.

[Bluesmudge]

I really wish motorcycle lane sharing was legal. If it was, I would drive a motorcycle to work instead of an F150, but I hate sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on a motorcycle.
There were lane sharing bills, proposed in Washington and Oregon legislature this year, that looked to have some momentum but ultimately went nowhere (as usual).
It has been shown in studies that lane splitting does not increase the accident rate of motorcycles but does shift many accidents to side impacts instead of rear-endings. Take your pick. Here is my little anecdote as to why I support lane sharing:

While waiting in the back of the line at a red light, I was effectively run over on my Suzuki GS500 when a Jeep Wrangler quickly backed up to let another car into a parallel parking spot. There was absolutely nothing I could do other than get a split second out of my little GS meep meep horn.

If I had been legally allowed to filter to the front it would have saved me a concussion, saved the fire department a call, saved that Jeep's insurance company from having to fix me and my bike, saved the court system and witnesses time and money when the Jeep's driver contested their ticket and saved the driver the money when they ended up paying that ticket. Everyone else would get where they were going a tiny bit faster and maybe more people would be willing to give motorcycles a try when they start noticing the time savings. I also think having motorcycles slide by every few seconds might get a few people off their cell phones as driving will finally require a little bit of attention. Once they start looking up from their phones so as to not kill any motorcyclists, maybe people will stop rear-ending each other in slow moving traffic and even more time and money will be saved.

But none of this will ever happen, so I'll just keep sitting in traffic and continue to be part of the problem. "Hey, whats the deal with all this traffic?"

[prmas]

"Filtering" or lane sharing becomes legal in Victoria, Australia from November the 1st. 
It has been legal in New South Wales (our Northern neighbour state) for a couple of years.
It is good to hear/see that it it is being announced through radio and TV as of yesterday.   
I have not seen any print media announcement but I do not regularly buy any newspapers. 

Filtering is defined as moving between stationary or slow moving lanes of vehicles at no more than 30kph (about 20mph). 
It excludes the lane next to the kerb as this is reserved for cyclists.
"Lane Splitting" is NOT permitted and is defined as moving between lanes of vehicles moving at more than 30kph.

Macka

[Bluesmudge]

I wish US states would pass a law like that, but it will probably never happen as long as we have people like this:

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/264448/coronado-california-bike-lanes/

[Slack]

WOW

[barry905]

Lane splitting is legal, or at least not ticketed, in the UK. But only at reasonable (i.e. slow) speeds in slow moving traffic. It's a great help in reducing congestion and saves a lot of frustration for motorcycle riders.

As for those who lane split at high speeds, as in these videos, well, that's just stupid. And dangerous.

[pliskin]

Lane splitting at any speed is not as safe as NO lane splitting at all . Why risk it? "lane splitting is safe"....famous last words.

There is no way to be 100% sure a car won't merge into you. The only way to be 100% sure they won't come over on you is to not be there in the first place.

Sorry, I don't buy it.

That said I have no problem with people who do it. It's no skin off my azz (pun intended).

[cWj]

Anybody here ever been ticketed for lane splitting gridlocked cars outside of CA?

FWIW, we do it here in NYC fairly often. I've never been cited, but PoPos here enforce laws pretty selectively and I tend to refrain when around them in case somebody is having a bad day.