Lanes

Q: 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.

I appealed the ticket and intend to plead not guilty on the basis of section 156, which suspends sections 151 and 155 under certain conditions.

Left 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.

Question: 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.

Our government spends about $11.3 million each year to paint the markings on our highways. These painted lines and symbols guide us by setting our lateral position in the roadway, telling us when we can and cannot change that position and may also prohibit driving in some lanes by marking use criteria.

Is it legal to pull into a head-in angled parking spot on the opposite side of the street (crossing a solid yellow line)?

Effective 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.

This 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.

I 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.

My house fronts a busy street and when turning left from my drive way in heavy traffic. I generally go through the northbound lane and into the Two Way Left Turn Lane, stop and wait to merge right into the southbound lane. I can’t seem to find legislation saying this is illegal in British Columbia but I haven’t found anything saying it is legal either.

Robert Tomkowicz was issued a violation ticket for crossing a solid line and illegal use of an HOV lane while traveling southbound on Highway 99 in Richmond, B.C. The judicial justice in traffic court convicted him for both offences after a trial.