s140 is not the only applicable section when you're on a highway with divided lanes. Forget the example where the road is wide enough but not divided (Lakeshore).
I am just citing 140 here, to stress, that even if there is room to filter, car or bike, filtering cannot be done next to "approaching" traffic within 30m of a pedestrian crossing, regardless of space. Traffic must be stopped to filter legally, space providing, if you are within 30m of an intersection. Other HTA laws apply of course.
Where it is divided, 154 also applies, and the vehicle must be driven entirely within a lane to the extent it is practical.
If determined safe to exit one's lane, then it is fine. 154 does not restrict driving entirely within the lane, and is meant as a law governing safe exiting of one's lane in order to pass. It is also meant to prevent extended periods of driving while straddling lanes. However "filtering" is not extended periods of driving and is actually a passing manouver if done in safety. Anyways this has all been discussed in length on several other threads. I won't go much further about the legality. I was just commenting on restrictions of filtering even with a 4 wheeled vehicle given sufficient room to do so. It wasn't meant to be a comprehensive legal break down.
Therefore, a motorist with multitrack vehicle cannot slide in between, straddling the dividing line simply because they fit. Staying behind one of the vehicles would allow them to stay entirely within a lane. However, if one of the vehicles was actually stopped at the curb and didn't move when the light changed, or in a better example, stopped at the curb mid-block, the motorist could straddle the dividing line to get around it.
Yes.
I also submit that your position on passing stopped (approaching triggers the application of 140, stopped vehicles is ok) vehicles does not apply when the vehicles are stopped in compliance with a traffic signal. Neither of our position is explicitly mentioneds, at least that I can find, so we'll have to disagree on that one.
Passing as you've described it, is to allow you any way past traffic that you don't want to follow, as long as you believe it's done in safety. That's very subjective, and I don't believe that is the intent, nor the interpretation of those provisions or restrictions in the HTA.
Yes again. "Safely" is subjective and often provokes roadside debates with cops and some road rage. Excercise filtering with that in mind. Giving the finger is not the best way to handle subjective disputes. Be safe out there peeps!
A vehicle stopped or standing at the curb is different. You pass, allowing space to do so safely. The same is true for a slow moving vehicle or bicycle. These are the exceptions to the prevailing rate of speed - and if we didn't go around them they would slow traffic.
That is not true of your filtering argument. The traffic will not move noticeably faster or smoother because a bike filtered to the front. In fact, with no space at the front for bikes to spread out, more than one would likely cause a delay. I think four or five would certainly negatively affect the flow of traffic moving away at the green light.
On the last point I am agreed. In the UK where I honed my splitting filtering craft, often bike queues would form in filtering situations. In this case a bike could not get to the front and when traffic began moving a bike would now be full on splitting, rather than filtering, or they would slot into a naturally opened gap. But as "splitting" was allowed in the UK, the bikes would continue to split and eventually all the bikes would, in short order, pass all the cars and the bikes would all be at the head of the line. So it worked quite well even in these cases. This would not work here, because the HTA's clauses prevent "splitting" (riding between moving traffic at speed). Not only is it not possible due to a couple clauses, but when "safety" is subjective, there is no precent (here) to argue it is safe. However where safety is subjective, it can be argued (successfully) that filtering in stopped traffic IS safe. This distinction makes filtering, where queues of bikes form in the gaps between cars, problematic. However, as bike numbers are low, and instances of filter queues are almost non-existent. I have never experienced it here at all, this is not a problem. When critical mass occurs and enough bikes are out there filtering to form filter queues, that will eventually tip the scales to allow for splitting. I am not worried about that possibility.
If there are two clearly marked lanes, no dedicated turn lanes, and one car stopped at the limit line in each lane, you would argue that it is perfectly acceptable to stop between them if you could fit? To me, that's the epitome of the "me first" culture.
I do it every day bud. I stop between them and am off like a bolt at the lights to have no net impact on them. I usually out pace them by 50+ meters by the time I get to the speed limit. I hold at the limit and usually by the next set of lights pack of speeding cars (all breaking the law) have caught up to me, so I add a few decameters buffer and keep ahead of the pack. The odd excessive speeder usually jumps ahead and more power to him. "Me first" culture you say? Funny how in those instances I didn't break any law, while the whole pack of cars behind me all did. Try getting to the front of any line and maintain the speed limit or go 5 below for safety and see about this "me first" culture you speak of.