Lanes

Question: Hi I am a bike commuter and use the bike lanes often. I often encounter other types of people using the bike lane for various other activities, as well as people sometimes three of them on a motorized scooter. Please clarify, who is allowed to use the bicycle lanes in Kelowna?

One sure sign of growing up when we were young was the ability to use our crayons and colour between the lines. An important skill for a "grown up" driver is also the ability to stay between the lines. Judging by the e-mails that I continually receive from readers who state that this is their main pet peeve, there is a sizable number of drivers out there who need to do a bit more skill improvement.

I live beside a road where I can watch an "S" curve out of my window where visibility is limited due to vegetation on both sides. I don't have to watch for long before a see a driver who straightens out the S by driving more or less in a straight line through the corners.

A two way left turn lane is often found in larger towns and cities running down the center of multi-lane highway. It is easily identified by the combination solid and broken yellow line at both sides and the pair of opposing left pointing arrows painted on the road surface and displayed on black and white regulatory signs overhead.

Ryan Toevs parked his truck on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver. He exited the truck and walked across the street to deliver an envelope to a friend. Following that delivery, he observed traffic and determined that it was safe for him to cross back to his truck and enter it. On arriving at the driver's door, Mr. Toevs decided that it would not be safe to open the door and stood with his back to the truck to let approaching vehicles pass.

Mirror, signal, shoulder check, move. These are the four steps for a successful lane changes. Simple enough one would expect, until you watch what goes on around you in traffic today.

Our highways are not for the exclusive use of motor vehicles. Bicycles, pedestrians, equestrians and others may be expected to use their fair share of the highway as well. In fact, in some ways the shoulder of the road could be considered to be their domain and not that of the driver.

This incident involves a collision between a cyclist, Valerie Charlton-Miner and a driver, Reginald Hedgecock at the intersection of Hollywood Road South and Highway 33 in Kelowna. Ms. Charlton-Miner was riding northbound in Hollywood Road cycle lane approaching Highway 33. From left to right at the intersection approach is a left turn lane, a through lane, a right turn lane and the cycle lane.

Here's another complaint from the DriveSmartBC Inbox: "Please speak to the situation that I call the "Invisible White Lines" on our highways as soon as we get some rain and whilst driving in the dark. Night visibility in winter is terrible.

We take the lines painted on our roads for granted today, but the first attempts at implementing them were met with resistance.  This short video on the history of lane markings is a study in the rapid effect of new technologies and the ability of a few people with a good idea to have a large impact.