Originally Posted by
cyccommute
how do you deal with the line suddenly starting to move. It would be easy to get trapped in between two lines of moving traffic with no were to go.
I typically only lane split when its a "parking lot" and there is separation between vehicle lanes. in the unlikely event that traffic starts to move i've always been able to insert myself into the lane. i am not going to argue that lane splitting is the safest possible manoeuver but passing vehicles on the curb (at speed) is also unsafe.
A motorcycle might be able to deal with it because they have speed on their side but a bicyclists is stuck
In downtown pdx the effective speed limit is ~15 mph due to signalling (and red light cams).