I can't lane split and it's driving me mad

Daylight savings for Western Australia ended on March 25. This means that at home time, i was stuck in a jam right from the carpark gates of my building, all the way home with everyone who was rushing home to make the most of the remaining sunshine.

It usually takes me about 10 minutes to get home, as i live very close to where i work. This day it must have taken me something like 40 minutes. Stuck obediently behind a long line of cars, i was getting seriously frustrated watching the other bikers trundling past me between the lanes. I've been watching other riders lane split to get to the head of traffic lights, and trying to figure out how they gauge the traffic to know when to move between the flow, but with no background to base my observations on, i'm not getting very far.

What if i clip someone's wing mirror? Paying for their damage is one thing, me losing balance and falling is another. What if i get stuck behind a line of bikers while the lights turn green? How do i get from in between 2 lanes back to inside one? What if i'm trying to do this and the driver doesn't see me and clips me?

There are too many variables with nowhere close to a solid answer.

While lane splitting is illegal in Western Australia, it seems like a rite of passage most riders have to go through. I don't think i'll ever get up the guts or desire to lane split in fast, or any moving traffic, but getting to the head of a line of cars at red lights is something i've decided, along the way, that i have to attempt if only for the principle of it.

Back to the internet, and 2 "lesson plans". Incidentally, they're seperate articles with the same title - Lane Splitting 101:

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mclaw/split.html

http://www.ketchum.org/ls101.html

I'm starting to think that perhaps the ex-boss was right. There's no preparation, "you just gotta do it hey."