Intersections

I watched the driver on either side of me this morning on my way to work. We were stopped waiting for a red light to turn green and I could see that both of them were totally focused on the that light. Neither one of them moved their heads and immediately started off when the light turned green. What a wonderful example of blind faith!

The case of Petes v Petersen illustrates the dangers of making a lane change at or near an intersection. The collision that gave rise to this occurred at the intersection of Marshall Road and Guilford Drive in Abbotsford. James Petersen was driving his Ford Fusion westbound on Marshall and Laszlo Petes was driving his Suzuki pickup southbound on Guilford, turning right onto Marshall.

I am often asked to tell the motoring public that it is illegal to change lanes in an intersection. I cannot do this, because there is no specific rule prohibiting this driving action in B.C.'s Motor Vehicle Act. However, a defensive driver will choose not to do this, even if it is legal.

Lately I have noticed a number of drivers who have entered the intersection on the green traffic light intending to make a left turn and then backed up instead of turning once the light has changed to red. This sometimes happens with through traffic in an intersection as well. In either case, backing out of the intersection is unsafe and may be illegal.

Jennifer Harvey was riding her bicycle southbound on Ontario street entering the roundabout at Athlete's Way in Vancouver.  As she entered, she noted a car ahead of her that was stopped but had the backup lights on. Ms. Harvey did not decide to stop until the car began to back up, but by then it was too late, the car collided with her.

This video is shared from the Protected Intersections for Bicyclists website. The author, Nick Falbo, explains that the concepts presented in the video are exploratory and experimental, but judging from the material provided on the site it might be more accurate if the words "in North America" were added. This appears to follow the standard Dutch design in a North American setting.

I found an interesting post on Twitter this morning by @renomate talking about the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and the Island Highway in Colwood. He said "Standing at the intersection, waiting for the little "walk" symbol to appear so we can cross... my (8 year old) daughter says to me, "Dad, what do you do if you want to cross there"? (pointing perpendicular to where we are crossing) "you have to cross 3 times, and there's not even a scramble"

The City of Kelowna has a roundabout at the corner of Burtch Road and Guisachan Road that has been designed it in a way that forces cyclists onto the sidewalk.  I regularly walk in the area and am always hearing "On your left" or "On your right" from cyclists that expect me to get out of their way. As far as I am concerned I have no legal obligation to move or relinquish the sidewalk to satisfy the cyclists.  I do believe they have a legal obligation to yield to me - even if they are forced to dismount and push their bike.

I have a question that I hope you will answer for me. If an intersection safety camera ticket is sent to the vehicle's owner, do they get penalty points on their license? I found a web post that says you only get penalty points if you were caught by a cop. Is that true?

Here's a simple, almost no cost change in pedestrian walk signal timing that can reduce vehicle / pedestrian collisions by as much as 60%. Instead of illuminating the white pedestrian light at the same time as the green light for traffic, the pedestrian gets a few seconds head start. This puts them out into the intersection before drivers start to move, making them more visible.