turbodish, what's your opinion on lane filtering and lane splitting? Or will you reserve providing that opinion based on your profession?
My profession isn't what you apparently think it is.
Re splitting and filtering, it comes down to this. If you want to be safe regardless of type of vehicle, your movements need to be predictable and visible to other road users. That means being where other road users expect you to be. In Ontario that isn't lane splitting between traffic on the 401 or up the DVP.
A big deal is made by most here about slower traffic keeping right. A big deal is made about using blocking position to defend your lane space. In group rides a big deal is made about staggered formation so you have the full width of the lane to maneuver in if needed. How do you reconcile that with lane splitting where suddenly there is no lane space at all, and where you're now travelling faster than traffic on BOTH sides of you? So much for maneuvering room for you and predictability to others.
Filtering through stopped traffic to get to the head of the line may be less dangerous from a safety point of view, but it is ignorant no matter how you rationalize it to yourself. Why is your time more important than the dozen vehicles you just queue-jumped past? It also opens the door for vehicles other than motorcycles to do the same to you if there is enough room. How many here will appreciate a Smart car or Echo filtering past them to move up a spot in the line?
Some here will argue safety and not wanting to get rear-ended while stopped in traffic as an excuse to justify filtering, but there are other strategies to deal with that. Even if you do need to evasively move between cars to avoid a rear-ender, you can satisfy that imperative without heading right up to the front of the line.
Pointing to Europe is not very relevant. We're not Europe. Our road systems are different, our driver training regime is different, and most importantly, our motorcycle and scooter presence on our roads is minuscule compared to Europe. We're also not California - our motorcycle and scooter numbers per capita are a fraction of California's, and unlike most of California, the largest part of even that minimal road presence in Ontario is limited to about 6 months out of a year.
Motorcycle presence on Ontario roads is so minimal in comparison to other vehicle types that you can't easily expect other vehicle operators to adjust to "unique" rules of the road specific only to motorcycles. The best bet for survival on two wheels is to operate it as if you were just like the rest of the traffic out there, and make your movements predictable and understandable to other road users. Remaining in marked lanes, travelling with the flow of traffic, and minimizing your time spent in blind spots and immediately adjacent to other vehicles is predictable and leaves you margins of space around you. None of that is consistent with lane splitting at speed or filtering.
