Lots of good thoughts here. Seems like when approaching red lights where there are at least two lanes, it could be much safer going between the lanes to the intersection. At least if you're between the cars it's harder to get squashed from behind. Need to get more comfortable doing that.

Seems like Newport and Irvine have a good amount of distracted drivers, although I've had good luck on the toll roads, going between Newport and Mission Viejo. Twice a week I ride to/from Newport to Ventura County, 90 some miles. Thankfully, there's a carpool lane for most of that ride which is nice.

 

At least you've got that option, lane splitting. In FL, that is illegal. If you cut to the front you can get ticketed.

 

Legal or not, I still "lane-split" or "filter" to the front of a red light.
I have been riding motorcycles for nearly 2 decades, always "lane-split" when traffic flow comes to a crawl below 20 mph, my speed while lane-splitting is rarely above 25-30 mph.

Passed LEO in cruisers many times while lane-splitting, never given me any problem.

I figure: I'm not speeding,
I'm not sitting in A/C or climate control.
I'm not talking on my cell phone,
I'm not sipping on Starbucks,
I'm only paying attention to where I'm going 100%.