Is it ok to filter to b 1st?

Sure, whack the throttle as soon as the light turns green. You, your bubble and, the prick that just ran the red light have a grand old meeting in the middle of the intersection. Being the first person into an intersection has no appeal.

I can tell you when I do it in TX, I don't hold anyone up. That's a fact. I am usually half a mile down the road before the cagers clear the intersection. They accelerate like loaded cement trucks around here, not counting the 10 seconds it takes to notice the light has turned green. And every cager needs at least a football field in front of him before he can start accelerating. Then they all get stuck at the next red light, the one I cleared on green long ago. There aren't near as many commuter bikes here as in CA, but if there is already a bike filtering I just hang back. If they want to race me off the line, well that would be real progress, we could probably get an extra 5 or 6 cars thru the intersection before it turned red again.

In CA it's like the bikes have their own lane, when they just keep filtering up to one light after another without leaving the centerline. There are always cars at the next intersection, because the light never clears all the existing cars waiting at that light, so they don't get back in a lane, they just stay in the center for miles. How does this hold you up? If I split to a light, beat everybody off the line badly, turn right down the next street, then turn in my driveway without any cars getting within 1000 yds of me, does this hold you up?

Nevertheless it works fine in CA and most of the rest of the world, it's only here in the 49 states that we have this third-grader mentality. Waaaahhhhhh, he's cutting in line.

Yes, I never look both ways, before I launch myself across the intersection.

No matter how much frosting you put on a rice cake...........it's still a rice cake .

Myself and most riders will agree that splitting and filtering should be allowed, but (drum roll please) it is in fact not allowed in 49 of 50 states. I know it's confusing to many, but there is actually a difference between personal opinion and public law. Yeah, I know it sucks, but thats the way it is boys and girls.

If the laws were changed, if the laws lasted long enough for Darwin to weed out the idiots, if non riders were educated that it was legal and beneficial to all, then in time it wouldn't be a problem for the most part.

Unfortunately as long as we have a handful of "special" riders behaving like spoiled children the rest of us will pay the price. I'm not claiming to be without guilt in breaking traffic laws, yet even I am able to recognize it's not whining, its calling an ass an ass.

You're under the impression that one has to do more than be ready to roll on a green and accelerate at more than a casual pace in order to create that safe space.

You're completely mistaken on both counts.

Next concern?

not to mention we have people that have no qualms about enforcing the laws on their own regardless of how much injury comes to the rider. Hell, there are even people on this board who have threatened riders about trying to lane split past them.

If I find myself out after dark in the rain (which is often in the Winter months here in Oregon) I will filter to the front for safety reasons. I have never had a problem with LEO's or other road users.

In the daylight people seem to get pissed off.

Always be ready to split lanes to escape.

Thats why I no longer do it where illegal, besides the fact that it's wrong and detrimental to our privilege to ride, I honestly believe that between the possibility of road rage and the dangers of being where we are unexpected, actually makes it more dangerous.

IMO, If someone chooses to do something thats not permitted, at least have the stones to admit that they're doing it because they want to, and spare us the smoke and mirrors about it being for "safety".

These "I know it's wrong, make me feel better about doing it" threads are getting very banal.

There are LEO's and there are LEO WANKERS. Here in Oz some apply the law regardless. I would rather have an "escape plan" than something that puts me at risk to make LEO happy that I am complying with the legislation that was passed in parliament to make me safer.

The laws of physics and not the laws of man will determine how flesh and metal are torn apart.

I once had an unexpected epiphany on being "trapped" without an out.

When talking about sidecars with another rider, his main objection to them was just that, being trapped at a stop and not being able to escape by splitting if necessary. The obvious answer immediately came to me without conscience thought,
I have never ridden a motorcycle while being chained, taped, glued, stapled, screwed, welded, tied, cuffed, nailed, or otherwise permanently attached to it.
If I ever see an impending impact coming from the rear, and I don't have an out, my ass is off that seat and going wherever my 2 feet will take me.

There's always an "out".

That's kind of the outfit equivalent of 'lay 'er down' ain't it??

It's not wrong.

And this, my friends, is why filtering and lane splitting where it is not legal and accepted is a bad idea!

Jim

Nope. Neither are legal in Texas. (However, in Houston, DFW, Austin, San Antonio you will see many people do it with pretty much no outward signs that it bothers anyone.)

Changes to the law to make both legal have been presented at the last two state legislative sessions, and both times the bill in question never made it to the main house floor for a vote. Something about education and the state budget being more important. The bill is set to be introduced again next summer. Hopefully it gains some more ground this time. That is one bad thing about Texas politics, legislative sessions meet once every TWO years, and then only for a few weeks. Makes it very hard to get bills passes/repealed when there is no time to talk about them in sub-committees, committees, house and senate.

No,

In our personal opinion it's not wrong.

I dont think so, "laying it down" is code for loosing control while trying to stop, I'm talking about bailing if sitting at a stop with nowhere to go.