Lanes

Highway lane use information.

VIEWPOINT - Maintain Your Proper Lane Position!

SoapboxI'm not sure if you have covered this in previous columns but two of my biggest peeves is people that can't maintain proper lane positioning and people that shave corners. This is extremely dangerous if the offending driver is coming into your lane and a friggin' nuisance when following behind someone that 'gets into the gravel" and spits it up. What happened to the drivers courtesy today?

Q&A - Right Turn Conflict With Motorcycle

Q&A ImageI was driving a Nissan xterra (fairly large vehicle) south on Ziprick just past Costco in Kelowna. As I approached the three way intersection I observed there was a motorcycle near the center lane with his right turn indicator flashing. As he was in what appeared to me as the straight thru lane I assumed he had left his indicator on in error.

Q&A - HOV Lane Speed Limits

Q&A ImageQuestion: I am having difficulty with HOV Lanes and speed limits. Here are two different scenarios that I'm curious about and a comment about (non) enforcement of the speed limit during rush hour. I am uncomfortable using the HOV lane due to the dangerous behaviour of drivers overtaking me from the rear when I follow the speed limit.

Q&A - Another Take On Failing To Keep Right

Q&A ImageI have a question for you and hope you can answer it.

You're driving from Kelowna to Vancouver on the Okanagan Connector. There are two lanes for your direction of travel. The fast lane seems to be pretty clean with bare pavement. The slow lane is covered in snow and doesn't look safe. You have winter tires and everything, but bare pavement always beats compact snow.

CASE LAW - Haughian v Jiwa

BC Courts Coat of ArmsIn this case, Kathleen Haughian was proceeding eastbound on Sunset Street east of Smith Avenue in Burnaby, B.C.  Sunset Street in this location consists of two lanes in each direction with angle parking on both sides. The angle parking is toward traffic on the north side and away from traffic on the south side.

Ramp Metering

Ramp MeteringSome time ago I wrote about watching streams of traffic trying to enter the freeways in and around Vancouver. Platoons of vehicles would move through the acceleration lanes bumper to bumper and everyone would then try and jam themselves into the first gap in the slow lane that they encountered.

Q&A - Left Turn Over Single Solid Line

Q&A ImageOn my way home from dropping my daughter at school I turn left onto my street at an intersection and then need to turn left immediately again as my house is the 1st driveway. I do so over a single yellow line and am often getting honks etc. I don't think they're aware I'm turning into a driveway although I do signal... Am I wrong or are they?

Confluence of Lanes

Q&A ImageRecently I was on Highway 97 proceeding north and about to enter Westbank when a car exiting the connector highway, 97C, came abreast of me on my right. We were in a “dead heat,” as it were, with neither vehicle as much as a car’s length ahead of the other. I felt that I had the right of way and continued at the same speed. The other car merged after me, repeatedly sounding her horn.