Anyone who has never ridden a motorcycle legally on the road for more than a few days really should not comment on this.
Until you've heard a car schreeching it's tires behind you while their ABS kicks in and out and see them go flying past you onto the shoulder and look over at you in disbelief they almost hit you since they were too busy texting their BFF to pay attention that traffic was stopped, you really can't hold water in this debate. It is scary as fuck being stopped quickly and you see a car 1/4-1/2 mile behind you still FLYING towards you not paying attention and then suddenly see the nose dip down.
Lane splitting would alleviate a LOT of riders going down due to cars rear ending them. Think about it, 71N at Polaris is a perfect example. Suddenly traffic stops about 3/4 mile from the exit ramp and you stop in plenty of time on your bike. Unfortunately, Susie P. Textalot just had a breakup of her true love of 2 weeks right before homecoming. She is too distraught and texting her BFF about finding a new date to see the brake lights. You thought ahead and got into lane 1 within you lane, hoping to avoid a direct hit. Luckily for you, you did this and only lost your right leg and hand when she went plowing into the car in front of you and grazed you.
Meanwhile, in California, the same situation unfolds when traffic suddenly stops. The rider is able to split lanes at a reasonable speed with caution, and only hears the crunch behind him, and hopes all involved are OK.
Tell me, why shouldn't it be legalized again? Because someone may change lanes in front of you? That responsibility falls on both you, the rider, to be aware of your surroundings and proceed in splitting at a reasonable speed, No more than 5-10mph, as well as the driver to signal their intentions before checking their mirrors so other drivers and riders are aware of what they are thinking.
Just my $.02. But what do I know, I've only put 10,000 miles on my bike per year for the last 2 years