Signs & Signals

The case of Stevens v Sleeman arises from a fatal collision at the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Nelson Street in Mission. At 5:10 am on October 10, 2016 the traffic lights at the intersection lost power and ceased to function. By 3:08 pm power had not been restored and a collision occurred that claimed the life of Barbara McNally.

I ride a motorcycle and find that some HOV lanes allow motorcycles and some do not. It is frustrating to pass the non-HOV entrance to a roadway only to find that the HOV lane entrance does not permit motorcycles. Can it be changed so that motorcycles are permitted to use all HOV lanes and entrances, in particular that one as I commute over that bridge daily?

Baher Abdulhai is a professor at the University of Toronto and the director if the Toronto Intelligent Transportation Systems Centre and Testbed. One aspect of his work is artificial intelligence (AI) based street and freeway traffic control, traveler information systems, and emergency evacuation optimization.

Road Guy Rob is a civil engineer who delights in explaining traffic engineering to the public. In this episode Rob explains a bit about why these lights are placed where they are due to the horizontal and vertical angles that a driver sees.

Amid the chaos of a collision scene came a call over my police radio: "Grab that vehicle, it just drove around the cones and into oncoming traffic!" Not only did the emergency workers have to deal with a two vehicle collision in an intersection full of emergency vehicles, they also had to contend with drivers who were going through no matter what.

On a morning walk I found myself facing a young woman across a busy intersection while we waited for the traffic signal to change. She was facing me but keeping an eye on the van waiting beside her at the red light signalling a right turn. As I watched the situation unfold I was impressed with this woman's street smarts.

Here's an interesting question from the DriveSmartBC inbox: There is a mid-block pedestrian controlled traffic light in our neighborhood. Drivers frequently stop and then proceed through it if no one is in the crosswalk. Is this legal?

Eastbound on Point Grey at Alma there are two bike lanes on the north side of the street that are allowed to cross Alma without stopping. Cars eastbound on Point Grey must turn either right or left, and there is a curb/diverter on the far side to prevent them going straight through. Cars northbound on Alma face a stop sign, and one option is to turn right through the diverter.

Here is another video from Road Guy Rob who explains about how engineering improvements can reduce the number of drivers who fail to stop for red lights through inattention or error.

One correspondent observed that "It seems that drivers in BC generally have a big problem when it comes to merging. In this case let's say from two lanes to one. In the normal course of events merging shouldn't be any hassle at all - take turns, one from the left then one from the right - it all moves along nicely, and has a minimal effect on holding up traffic. Not in BC! Here it appears to be everyone for him / herself.