Lanes

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.

Thi My Tien Nguyen and Evelyn Busink were both driving their vehicles eastbound on 100 Avenue intending to turn left onto 140 Avenue in Surrey. Ms. Nguyen moved to the left and traveled over the painted median island before entering the marked left turn lane. Ms. Busink moved into the left turn lane when it began without looking to her left and struck Ms. Nguyen's vehicle.

Q: I was heading north on Bellevue Road in Errington and stopped at the stop sign at the Alberni Highway to make a left turn to head west toward Coombs. I was in a left turning lane and turning into the left lane of the highway.

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.

More and more often when I drive on a busy highway I'm finding much of the traffic jammed into the left lane, each driver trying unsuccessfully to get ahead of the others. One would think that this situation would be akin to being the proverbial kid in the candy store for anyone in traffic law enforcement, violations everywhere! Slower traffic failing to keep right, following too closely, unsafe lane change, cross single solid line, failing to signal lane change and, depending on your point of view, the root cause of much of this: attempting to exceed the speed limit.

The case of R v Kafka involves a crash between a pickup truck and truck tractor that was making a wide left turn. The pickup driver passed the heavy truck over a double solid line thinking that the truck was moving right to park at the side of the road.

Often, if heading north when I am on Bowen Road I will make a left turn at the Co-op bar (just above the Toyota and other car dealerships), I then turn right onto Shenton Road and run parallel to the old Island Highway until I pass Steve Marshall Ford where I use the right hand turn lane to join the traffic on Jingle Pot road and move over a lane to be able to turn left at the traffic lights onto the Old Island Hwy, heading north