Q&A

My mother is a rather large woman who has gotten larger due to medical causes...she also has a phobia of being confined as a result of a seatbelt not releasing and being trapped for quite a bit of time...as a result it is very difficult to get her to agree to put on a seatbelt when we take her to various doctors appointments...

Your recent bicycle column stirred me to ask a question about cyclists passing on the right. I was in Kelowna, travelling north on Harvey Avenue and wanted to turn right into a strip mall. Harvey Avenue is three lanes wide here and the curb lane is an HOV lane.

I would like to have a clarification on how to do a left turn on amber light. At a big intersection with a green light, a vehicle is on a complete stop waiting for a safe gap to do a left turn.

I own a smart car and was wondering what the rule is when it comes to using a HOV lane. Technically, it is half the length of a standard car, so I was wondering when the minimum number of passengers is 2, if this would mean one for me.

When a person is stopped for no insurance in BC, no matter where, is the car immediately impounded? Are there any exemptions? The reason I asked is: my employee said he got stopped for expired plates on the car he was driving, but the RCMP officer in Courtenay told him just to park it, even though the ICBC insurance had expired a week earlier.

Question: I’m planning a Wedding Reception (Outdoor) for my nephew and his wife in Mid July. There will be about 200 people coming from all over BC, Alberta and Manitoba. I’d like to offer them some transportation with reference to “Drinking and Driving”. I’m sure most if not all my guests are responsible drivers but again I just want to be sure they have a safe ride home.

Recently there have been a couple articles regarding bicycles and motorcycles riding side by side. To the best of my knowledge this is not illegal for the motorbike but when the bicycle does it and encroaches into the traffic lane. Because the bike is unable to maintain, in most cases the same speed as a motor vehicle this makes it a huge hazard but I don’t know or remember if this is illegal.

Today I was almost in a traffic collision. I was turning right and people across the intersection were turning left. The street we were turning onto had two lanes either side of the centre. I assumed all of the people turning left would end their turn in the left-most lane because they were turning out of the only left turn lane and I was taught you shouldn't be changing lanes in an intersection.

I have a question and after reading some of your articles, you may be the one to clarify this for me. My son, who is a novice driver in GLP of BC, was in an accident here on Vancouver Island. He was the only one involved, going into the ditch but sustained a large 2" gash on his chin, right down to the bone.