Q&A - Lane Use Signs

Q&A ImageFrom our understanding of the learning guide with the road sign in picture 4 (sign straight or right turn) says that you are to move into correct lane prior to passing road sign cause once you pass road sign you have to now commit to that direction and you also can't cross over solid white line. Where I'm confused and sounds a bit of a contradiction is that ICBC says the white line doesn't go up that far and we have to wait til we get to the end to pick where we are wanting to go to.

This issue has come up because my fiancee was on her moped with me driving behind her when a smart car crossed over double solid line and they are trying to say she wasn't suppose to be there and so we read the book and a lot of people interpreted it the same way I have so just wanting to get a straight forward answer.

From the Learn to Drive Smart manual:

Lane use signs

Signs showing which lanes may be used to turn or go straight are mounted above the lane or at the side of the lane before the intersection. If you are in a designated lane, you must follow the direction indicated by the arrows. You may not move into or out of a designated lane while you are in an intersection.

The double solid line in this picture is a yellow one.

Is this a case where a collision occurred? I would need direction of travel and position for both the smart car and the moped when this happened.

What kind of moped is it? I need to differentiate between motorcycle and motorized bicycle. If it was a motorized bicycle, were the pedals attached to it at the time?

We were heading down the hill when the car was heading up the hill and turned left in parking lot behind the building. The moped was a 50cc yamaha. My response to question on site. Moped was heading downhill on right side lane just under straight and right lane.

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

So, to sum up, we have a motorcycle headed roughly southbound on Jutland Road in the right hand lane under the sign (traffic control device) that requires the rider to either proceed straight through or turn right from that lane ahead. There is a car travelling roughly northbound on Jutland Road from Gorge Road turning left to enter the south entry to the parking lot for TriTac Marine.

I'm certain that there is more to this story, but I should have enough information now to comment as fully as possible.

The oncoming car is required to conduct the left turn safely, regardless of whether the turn occurs at an intersection or not:

Turning left other than at intersection

166 A driver of a vehicle must not turn the vehicle to the left from a highway at a place other than an intersection unless

(c) the driver has ascertained that the movement can be made in safety, having regard to the nature, condition and use of the highway and the traffic that actually is at the time or might reasonably be expected to be on the highway.

Yielding right of way on left turn

174 When a vehicle is in an intersection and its driver intends to turn left, the driver must yield the right of way to traffic approaching from the opposite direction that is in the intersection or so close as to constitute an immediate hazard, but having yielded and given a signal as required by sections 171 and 172, the driver may turn the vehicle to the left, and traffic approaching the intersection from the opposite direction must yield the right of way to the vehicle making the left turn.

"Traffic" is an interesting term as it includes vehicles, cycles and pedestrians, so the left turning driver has to scan for and take into account a wide range of possibilities, including drivers, riders or pedestrians who are not following the rules.

As we approach Gorge on Jutland travelling southbound, the roadway is one lane wide until we reach the single solid white line where there are now two roadways. Once you have passed the start of that single white line (and I mean with the front of your vehicle or cycle, not the rear), you are bound by the overhead signs to proceed as indicated and may not change lanes if you find that you've made the wrong choice.

Until you reach that single solid white line, you are driving on one lane and should place your vehicle accordingly (and signal for what choice you are making when the two lanes begin). In the case of a motorcycle, see Chapter 6 of Learn to Ride Smart.

Obeying traffic controls

125 Unless otherwise directed by a peace officer or a person authorized by a peace officer to direct traffic, every driver of a vehicle and every pedestrian must obey the instructions of an applicable traffic control device.

Driving on laned roadway

151 A driver who is driving a vehicle on a laned roadway (b) must not drive it from one lane to another if that action necessitates crossing a solid line,

In reply to by DriveSmartBC

Section 156.

As it seems likely that the 'unreasonably affecting travel' stipulation was never met - and I'm kind of presuming that the left-turner and the moped had a collision, here - then the car driver was definitely at fault, methinks.

Yes, that's also a consideration, good catch! So would 144(1)(b) I suppose.