In Australia,
Lane splitting is when the traffic is moving and you try to 'share' a lane with cars etc.
NOT legal in Aust, although in practice is done all the time in major cities.
Filtering is when the traffic is stopped, and us guys on bikes can gain an unfair advantage over the cars, and trickle between the cars to the front of the lights. LEGAL in Victoria, but only if you pass cars on the RHS (?). The way to do this when the cops are around seems to be to leave the rhs indicator flashing.
In practice, you just trickle up to the front of the line, and have a good look in your mirrors to see if there is another bike behind, and give them room at the front of the traffic. Anything up to 40kmh seems to be fine , have ben doing this for 35 yrs, and never been stopped by the cops for this.
Having said that, I ride a 1800 twin with straighht thru exhausts, and if there is a cop car in the traffic, I give them a wide berth!.
The loud exhaust seems to make people aware of my presence, and many will move over to ensure I dont scratch their precious car. cuts an easy 20 minutes off my morning commute!.
Because my bike is wide, I sometimes make a decision NOT to filter, and hang back, but generally the lanes are wide enough to allow easy access to the front.
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