Lol, I totally feel what you're saying. I don't feel comfortable unless I'm passing people; the quicker the better. Though I haven't quite gotten to the stage of splitting lanes at traffic lights, I have been guilty of doing it on the highway, as have riden the shoulder a time or two around traffic jams, but... sssshhhh, it's illegal here too!

 

i weave in and out of traffic, but i have never tried lane splitting, mainly because where i live there is rarely ever traffic heavy enough to do so, and partially because i think it is illegal here in michigan

 

its legal to split traffic here in cali and i take full advantage of it every chance i get freeway traffic lights backed up traffic all gets passed and did i mention its legal haha

 

I just read somewhere that lane splitting isn't addressed by Texas law. But you have to watch out for those broad catchall statutes that give the cops a lot of discretion to decide that you were doing something "unsafe for the circumstances."

I used to commute 7 miles to college on a very crowded 4 lane road with a stop light every mile. I learned immediately to use the bike's quickness to stay out in front of everyone. I'm with Steve on hating to depend on people stopping behind me. When I would have to stop in front of people I would always move around a lot or turn around and look at them or weave to get their attention. If they thought I was crazy, they would at least be paying attention. A little crazy will move them away.

 

Just about all my working life I commuted on bikes & that includes the traffic crawl from the outer west of Sydney into the city & the 160 kay round trip I did for 9 bloody years from the coast down to (yep) Sydney. I used to feel like Classic & try & cut my way the maze of traffic & try & keep in front & I got pretty good at weaving in & out & around, blasting away at the lights to get in front & move back in the lane. But you know what I found from doing that? even more bloody traffic in front of the lot that I just passed, & I thought to myself one day, just sit back & take it easy. Your just as likely to get run over doing that as being run down by someone who thinks your a smart ****, because their stuck in traffic & everyone hate bike riders anyway.

 

Was coming back from NJ on the Walt Whitman bridge in my friend's car. There were about a half dozen guys on bikes sitting just past the tollbooths. i told my friend "Bet: those guys are about to do something stupid".

Traffic was moving steady about 55-65 on the bridge but there were fair amount of vehicles too. Steady but full. About 1/4th over the bridge we hear the bikes coming up hard and one is splitting the lanes. The squid goes to split the lane between 2 cars running staggered. Oops...

The lead car in the right lane drops back suddenly so the gap closes quick. He clipped his leg on the rear bumper of the lead car causing the trail car in the left lane to slam hard on the brake to avoid his wobbly re-entry into the lane.

Maybe later I'll consider splitting lanes at traffic lights. Right now I do sometimes use the bike lane on streets at lights (depending on if I see 0 heads in the driver's seats all the way to the light). Won't ever take it as far as that squid. God gave a very rare smile unto him during that stupidity.

And yeah it was massively stupid because the far right lane was coned off and his smarter squid friends ran down the closed lane at full speed.

 

I don't usually split lanes because I'm always afraid someone will door me just for entertainment. I had a secretary once who (in a car) absentmindedly (she was the queen of that) cut off some normal looking middle aged guy in a suit, and he yanked out a gun and shot at her car. The bullet creased the chrome trim below her back window and put a groove up the glass. I'm kind of surprised she noticed.