This all started with a simple question from my e-mail: "Are right turn lanes allowed at 4 way stop intersections?" The story evolved as I asked questions to try and understand the situation before answering here. It turns out to involve the intersection of Trail Avenue and Cowrie Street in Sechelt.
Oceanside Community Safety is a group of volunteers that want to make a difference. Their Traffic Watch program is an expansion of Speedwatch that now includes Cell Watch and Intersection Watch. Intersection Watch volunteers observe drivers at an intersection to check compliance with traffic laws and remind drivers of their obligations. The data collected is shared with the RCMP, ICBC and the public.
"I almost lost my life at West Fourth and Blenheim in Vancouver this morning" reported a DriveSmartBC Twitter follower. "I was turning left. The traffic lights were red for the traffic on Fourth. I stopped for the stop sign on Blenheim, then moved into the intersection to make my turn. The vehicle approaching me from the opposite direction was speeding and didn't even slow down for the stop sign. She went straight through!"
Douglas Heuring was riding his bicycle eastbound on 13 street approaching Grand Boulevard East in North Vancouver, B.C. He stopped for the stop sign about 10 feet back from the marked stop line at the intersection. He saw a truck being driven northbound by Erik Smith slowing down as it approached the 4 way stop.
When my father-in-law from Quebec visited us here in B.C. years ago he was impressed with the idea of the overhead sign with flashing amber lights marked Prepare to Stop prior to signalized intersections. He thought that these signs made it much easier for the driver to prepare for a safe stop in advance of the signal changing to red. At that time this type of signal was not used where he lived.
Paul Hergott is a personal injury lawyer who practices in Kelowna and writes on a variety of topics about driving in BC and the consequences for the participants when things go wrong. In this article he writes about how sidewalks should be treated as stop signs.
According to the Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia, travel by school bus is statistically the safest method of ground transportation in Canada and by a substantial margin. I’m sure that we all expect and demand nothing less when our children and grandchildren are riding those buses to and from schools and school related events. Surely all drivers should understand this and not hesitate to stop when the red lights on a stopped bus are flashing.
Perhaps you saw news coverage of the out of control commercial truck collision on the Coquihalla Highway last Friday. Witness accounts from the scene speculated that the combination appeared to have lost it’s brakes and may not have stopped at the mandatory brake inspection pullout nearby. No doubt this will be either confirmed or disproved when the investigation of the incident is complete.
Parking lots are a bit different. On one hand, they are private property but on the other the public is invited to use them so they qualify as a highway under the Motor Vehicle Act. This means that you must obey all the usual driving rules, including stopping at stop signs. This driver appears to feel that the bigger truck gets to go first, regardless of the stop sign.
One evening while patrolling in an unmarked police car I approached a cross street that was controlled by stop signs. I could see a car approaching from my right going fast enough that I was concerned that the driver did not intend to stop. I shadowed my brake pedal and when the other vehicle was at a 45 degree angle making a right turn I stomped and stopped. So did he. We sat and looked at each other for a moment and when it was clear that he wasn’t going to go, I waved him forward.
This all started with a simple question from my e-mail: "Are right turn lanes allowed at 4 way stop intersections?" The story evolved as I asked questions to try and understand the situation before answering here. It turns out to involve the intersection of Trail Avenue and Cowrie Street in Sechelt.
Perhaps you saw 
