It's much safer to lane split, at the appropriate time.

A woman at works' husband was sitting at the back of the pack at some traffic lights. Inattentive moron comes up to the lights and proceeds to clean him up from behind(perhaps on the phone texting??).

A month in hospital and a written off bike being the end result. Being between the cars in certain situations is much safer, as is scooting to the front at lights and leaving the traffic behind when the lights change, to get to the safety of having no cars around you when you take off is a much safer option.

Lane splitting in peak hour traffic also reduces traffic congestion as the bikes aren't taking up lane space unnecesarily. But I here people say "you must wait you're turn". Ba humbug! Why have more vehicles sitting in traffic idling away and not moving creating more congestion and pollution to go with it? Lane splitting obviously assists in reducing traffic congestion and is a much green/greener solution for pollution. .

Cheers,

Jason