Intersections

William Vance was riding an unlicenced, uninsured off road motorcycle southbound on 198 Street in Langley, B.C. He was not wearing a helmet and was exceeding the speed limit. Cristine Cartwright was eastbound on 21 Avenue and had stopped at the stop sign before entering 198 Street intending to turn northbound. Vision was limited for drivers on 21 avenue looking northbound by roadside vegetation.

The driver of this car may not have noticed the flashing right turn signal on the bus, but learned the hard way that it was worth paying attention to.

This excellent video by Young Drivers of Canada explains the philosophy of the stop sign. If you approach thinking "stop", you are more apt to grant the required right of way to other road users. If you approach intending to slow down just enough to avoid a ticket, you are thinking "go" and will be less likely to take the necessary action, stopping, if you are required to grant right of way to others.

Would you write something in one of your articles about people turning at intersections and immediately going into the right lane and cutting off other motorist merging into traffic? This is one of my biggest pet peeves in the traffic world. I have seen and experience where to person who is merging is getting the horn and finger wave even though they were in the right.

I am tired of trying to make a left turn at an intersection and having the opposing traffic going around the other guy that is also trying to turn left. I can't seem to finish my turn till we run out of cars. I am talking about intersections without lights. I've asked the local sergeant but he's not sure what to do about it.

A green light doesn't always mean go unless you've had a good look to make sure that there are no hazards present before you proceed. Jennifer Biggers learned this when the vehicle she was driving collided with Carol Murdoch, who was crossing quickly in a marked crosswalk against a red light.

Question: At a 4 way stop, what are the rules for yielding if I am turning left and there are pedestrians about to cross and there is also another car that has stopped to my right at the same time?

Road users, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, have a duty to take reasonable care for themselves and others. If they do not follow the traffic rules they assume a heightened duty of care according to the courts. In this case both the driver and the cyclist involved failed to do so and collided with each other.

Question: It is my understanding that any intersection, including a "T" intersection, that does not have a marked crosswalk is deemed to be an "unmarked crosswalk" and that a pedestrian has the same protection (rights) in the unmarked crossing as in a marked one.

Have you ever met or been overtaken by an emergency vehicle with lights flashing and sirens wailing when you were navigating a roundabout? What to do? Well, a roundabout is just another type of intersection, so you must immediately move out of it, stop and remain stopped until the emergency vehicle or vehicles pass by.