Intersections

Information related to intersections.

CASE LAW - Immediate Hazard

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThe case of Stempowicz v Dobbs involves a collision at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Langford Parkway in Langford. The traffic light was green for the opposing drivers, one turning left and one driving straight through. Justice Morley decides which driver was the immediate hazard.

Bad Manners at the Stop Sign

Stop SignMirror, signal left, brake and stop before the marked stop line. Look left, look right and the pickup that was following behind stops ahead of me on my right, half on and half off the roadway, to make a right turn. Of course, I can't see cross traffic to my right properly, so he gets to go before I do.

A Yellow Light Means Stop

Yellow LightBelieve it or not, in British Columbia a yellow traffic light tells you that you must stop before you enter the intersection! Yes, I know that there is one caveat to that statement, and it is "unless the stop cannot be made in safety." The onus is on the driver that does not stop for the yellow light to show that it was unsafe if they are involved in court proceedings because of their decision.

Left Turns Into the Correct Lane

Left Turns SignalA Courtenay resident is upset with drivers that turn left from the Island Highway onto Ryan Road and fail to enter the first available lane. He identifies this as a problem for drivers traveling in the opposite direction on the highway wanting to turn right onto Ryan Road. Who would be liable he wonders if the right turn vehicle failed to yield as directed by the sign and collided with a vehicle that had made the left turn into the curb lane instead of the lane next to the center line.

Yielding on Left Turns

Left Turn CrashA driver from Rutland e-mailed with a concern regarding the intersection of Nickel Road and Highway 33. Highway 33 is five lanes wide with a two way left turn lane in the middle and Nickel Road is a two lane residential street. She regularly stops and waits to turn left off of Highway 33 onto Nickel Road and is horrified when through traffic on the highway stops to allow her to make the turn.

CASE LAW - Cutting Corners

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis case decides the liability for a collision at the intersection of 184th Street and 40th Avenue in Surrey. Was the collision caused by a driver cutting corners or a driver failing to stop at the stop sign? Madam Justice Forth makes the decision.

RESOURCE - Centerline Hardening Strategies

Parachute Canada LogoPart of Parachute Canada's Vision Zero Collection is an explanation of centerline hardening strategies that are intended to make intersections safer for pedestrians by reducing the turning radius for motor vehicles. The use of physical objects such as bollards, delineators or rubber curbs encourage drivers to make left turns at slower speeds.

If You Can't See, You Can't Go!

Dangerous Intersection SignA reader writes to me describing an intersection where collisions occur regularly, some resulting in fatalities. He has observed that the opposing left turn lanes in one direction don't line up directly across from each other but are offset by a few feet. The result is that through traffic in one direction is more obscured by standing vehicles than it is in the other. To complicate matters, one direction has a protected left turn signal and the other direction does not.