Passing

Passing zones always presented interesting situations for traffic enforcement. There were many times when I would find one driver in the right lane travelling at or near the speed limit and another overtaking on the left at a speed significantly in excess of that limit.

I have a concern about the road between Port Alberni and the West Coast. When they redid the slow vehicle pullouts, they dressed them up to look exactly like passing lanes. Now everyone travels in those lanes. The only difference between the pullouts and passing lanes is that the pullouts don't have signs telling drivers that the lane is ending (why would it, it's not a travel or a passing lane - it's a slow vehicle pullout).

The case of R v Gray arises from an incident that occurred on the highway near Round Lake, B.C. A police patrol that was southbound on the highway observed 3 vehicles abreast approaching. The highway was only two lanes wide for northbound traffic so the third vehicle was being driven between the widely spaced solid yellow lines marked in the center of four lanes.

Question: I was asked about not crossing a double solid yellow line when driving. Two friends were talking about it and thought there had been an update that allowed a driver to cross a double line under certain circumstances. Was this true?

According to the Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia, travel by school bus is statistically the safest method of ground transportation in Canada and by a substantial margin. We all expect and demand nothing less when our children and grandchildren are riding those buses to and from schools and school related events. Surely all drivers should understand this and not hesitate to stop when the red lights on a stopped bus are flashing.

Cycling advocates in BC would like to see our government enact a safe passing distance law so that drivers are aware of how much space they must leave between their vehicle and the cycle as they drive by. Two US cities, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Knowville, Kentucky have such laws and were chosen by NHTSA for a study of how high visibility enforcement of the law influenced passing distances.

The case of Doyle v Hubick takes place on Highway 99 known as the Sea to Sky Highway, 32 km south of Pemberton. Sandra Doyle and Darcy Hubick were driving southbound toward Whistler. Ms. Doyle was overtaking Mr. Hubick and decided to pass somewhere in the first half of a two lane passing area by moving to the left lane. Their vehicles collided where the two lanes merged at the end of the passing area.

QUESTION: It seems to be a regular occurrence on our single highway Gibsons / Sechelt community to use the bus stops on the right side of the highway as passing lanes for those cars queued up behind a car turning left. I have thought it illegal to do this, so I wait behind the left tuning vehicle until they clear the highway. I have been passed on the right often by several cars behind me, using the bus stop.

QUESTION: I live on a street where there is a T intersection. I'm wondering if it is OK to park in the top T portion of the intersection.

To complicate further - there is a curb let down (or curb ramp) on one leg of the T intersection. What is the distance required from the curb let down before a car can park? Is it 1.5 m (distance from driveway) or is it 6 m (distance from intersection)?

According to Tuning Up For Drivers on page 102, passing other vehicles is a manoeuvre that should be used sparingly. If you’re behind a vehicle that’s going well below the speed limit, you may want to pass. But if it’s not very far to where you plan to turn off, then passing may not be smart.