Lanes

Highway lane use information.

Keeping Cyclists Safe

painted cycle laneResearch by Dr. Ben Beck at Australia's Monash University collected data on 60 cyclists in Melbourne who rode their bicycles with a custom device (the 'MetreBox') installed to quantify the distance that motor vehicle drivers provide when passing them. More than 18,000 vehicle passing events from 422 trips were recorded.

Crossing a Solid Line Ticket

Q&A ImageQuestion: I was on a highway in bumper-to-bumper traffic approaching my exit for work and changed lanes to the right once I saw the end of HOV lane sign, and in doing so crossed a solid white line. An RCMP officer was on the side of the highway and waved me over. I explained that I would be exiting the highway and that's why I changed lanes. He gave me a ticket for violation of Section 151(b) - crossing a solid line.

Keep Right Except to Pass

Keep Right SignLeft lane hogs were back in the news again this week. The CTV Vancouver news story that I watched complained that drivers were not being held to account by police for failing to move out of the left lane and letting other drivers pass. The report claims that based on ticket numbers reported by ICBC the number of drivers ticketed for failing to keep right fell from 799 in 2016 to 699 in 2018.

There Was No Yield Sign

image of a yield signQuestion: I need advice to dispute two traffic tickets, Disobey Yield Sign - Section 173(2) MVA and Change Lane Unsafely - Section 151(a) MVA. This is really strange because there was no yield sign at the intersection. Here is what happened to me on Friday night.

NEWS - Commercial Trucks Confined to Right Lanes

TranBC logoEffective this week, heavy commercial vehicles will be forbidden to use the leftmost lane on the Coquihalla Highway between Box Canyon and Zopkios. Aimed at keeping "spun out" trucks on the right side of the highway and the left lane clear for snow removal equipment and tow trucks. If this pilot program produces the hoped for outcome it may be extended to other routes in the interior of the province.

Painted Traffic Island Crash

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis case resolves the liability for a crash where a driver making a left turn drove over the painted traffic island to get to the left turn lane rather than wait for traffic ahead. Unfortunately, the car ahead was also turning left and a collision occurred when that driver moved into the left turn lane without making a shoulder check first.

Q&A - Stopping in the middle of a lane change

Q&A ImageI notice a habit of Vancouver drivers is that when they are turning right, and the right hand lane is used for parking and/or cycling, they will casually pull halfway into the right-hand lane and then stop (either for a red light, or to yield to a crosswalk).

Even the 3rd or 4th car in a lineup waiting to turn right will do this: stopping on the dashed line.