How to Turn Right Across a Bicycle Lane in BC
Question: When turning right at an intersection with a bicycle lane, should you merge into the bike lane before turning or turn across it?
Information related to cycling.
Question: When turning right at an intersection with a bicycle lane, should you merge into the bike lane before turning or turn across it?
Wearing brighter clothing can help cyclists be noticed under some conditions, but on rural arterial roads in British Columbia it is rarely the primary factor determining collision risk. Speed, driver attention, lane discipline, and predictable behaviour generally have a much greater influence on safety outcomes.
"Walk against traffic, ride with it." This simple rule of thumb has been taught to school children for generations. Yet, it remains one of the most common traffic safety errors observed on British Columbia roads today. Whether out of a false sense of security or a simple misunderstanding of the law, cyclists who ride against the flow of traffic are placing themselves in immense danger.
Question: I grew up in the Netherlands where riding a bike everywhere is normal. I moved to Vancouver and have noticed that there is not much safety common sense with cyclists. My main concern is their "safety" LED lights! They shine them upwards, blinding pedestrians and drivers along the way.
Here's an new angle on a continual problem, that of other road users failing to yield to emergency vehicles. Most of the time this question is asked about cars and trucks, but this fire department official asks the question about a different subset of traffic, cyclists.
This case is a small claims action for damages to the open driver's door of a parked pickup truck when it was hit by a passing cyclist. The case was not decided in favour of the pickup owner.
Question: I cycle along a rural road near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The road I am talking about has a 60 km/h speed limit and a marked one metre wide shoulder on each side. On garbage pickup days some people place their residential bins on the shoulder. When that occurs cyclists are forced to move over into the roadway. Is this practice allowed?
Question: I have been driving home on Rupert Street in Vancouver lately and there are some lane markings I am not clear about. Between 12th Avenue and about Kingsway there is a narrow right hand lane that has a bicycle and a white diamond, there is no other signage. Are motorcycles allowed to use this lane because they regularly do.
This case arises from a car vs bicycle collision on 116 Street in North Delta at the onset of night. Manjit Dhaliwal and a friend were cycling northbound on 116 Street between 94 and 96 Avenues. Neither bicycle was equipped with a light. Sonia Kakkar was backing out of her driveway, did not see the cyclists and collided with Ms. Dhaliwal.
Imagine the surprise of the motorist at a collision I once investigated. He parked at the side of the road, opened his door, and a passing car tried to tear it off! It's a good thing he didn't step out while he opened the door.