I've found ,, France more than any country will let a biker filter,, in fact 90% will move their cars to one side or other to let a bike pass. As biker passes he / she lifts up one foot as a thank you.
You will see this more often as you go south to Cote d' Azur.
Vive la France!!

I was stationed in Germany on and off for about 7 years and never had a great problem filtering in Germany. As long as its sensible then i dont see any issue

I just cannot line myself up behind a 2 hour queue in 30 degree C! despite the fines. So I filter despite it being illegal. (never been pulled tho)
Friends of mine have received fines over the last couple of years.

I wish the Germans adopted the Dutch rule, which allows filtering trough queues up to the speed of 50 km/h.
http://www.motorplatform.nl/samenindefile/hart_file.gif

Certain rules apply in the Netherlands, like:
for the motorcyclist:
-Adapt your speed, max speed difference: 10 km/h
-Be allert (cars changing lanes, opening doors on hot days)
-stay two car lengts behind the biker in front of you
-filter trough the two outer lanes (left) only
-do not use emergency lights while riding
-As traffic speeds up above 50km/h, reenter the lane using indicator.

Rules for car drivers
-Observe traffic behind you
-ride in the centre of your lane
-Be extra careful when changing lanes and use indicator
-Open doors only in an emergency, for cooling use Aircon or open window:thumbup1:


These rules are part of a campain that started some years ago to create uniform behaviour in traffic.
It resulted in less accidents and a better understanding between different traffic groups.
Also: in 2013 the Netherlands had the largest decline in traffic deaths (and over all death toll) of the EU

All looks very sensible to me.:thumbup1:

Anybody can be stupid, but if you have the skill then it should be used, video'd and put onto youtube. Assuming you live to tell the tale.

'Enjoy' this example of filtering with attitude:

nuova dl v strom 1000 suzuki napoli tangenziale ago pro - YouTube :rolleyes2:

filtering in Germany ...
 

Hello there,


yes make it all illegal, make us all wear helmets when leaving the house, or wear bright colored vests all day long ....

... last year i traveled on the German autobahn and I encountered a traffic jam, of course i started filtering thru ... I am German, but I left Germany in 1999, so I was not aware that filtering was illegal. I did about 5kms then I noticed another bike behind me, so I told him to pass, but he would not. We did about 25kms filtering, also passing two police cars and the accident that caused the jam. Then I stopped for fuel and the other biker would stop next to me. He said, you know it is illegal to filter thru traffic like this in Germany, you are very brave, they can take your license. I went in to pay for the fuel and I bought two beers, I gave one to the other biker, he could not believe his eyes. Then I told him, that my German license is in a Senegalese police station and that I am in charge of my life not a bureaucrat in Brussels. He drank his beer slowly, he had never heard what I told him, but it made him think.

Before you start bashing down on me, dont forget this is the HUBB pub and I am telling nobody to follow me ... or drink the beer that I pay for ...

Saludos
mika

My view on laws in whatever country: If I think they're sh!te I ignore them. 2 weeks ago I filtered through a traffic jam near Frankfurt airport. Some cars moved out of the way especially and one pr!ck pressed his horn. It was a fat Mercedes. I flicked him the bird. And yes I know to show someone the "Stinkfinger" is illegal too in Germany. :)

Yeh, your right.
Who needs rules and laws, everything works better without them. bier