Q&A - Left Turn from Wrong Lane

Question: Q&A ImageThe link below shows the grey car in a left turn lane and when that driver receives the advanced left turn signal, then turns onto Ryan Road heading toward the Island Highway bypass. The lane to his right as you can see goes straight onto Sandwick Road to either the RCMP station or also to Canadian Tire. 

What I am seeing more frequently is a car leaving the Superstore in the lane going straight, and making a left hand turn onto the right hand lane on Ryan Road, more often than not signalling a left hand turn while in the process.

Depending on the signal timing, this could make turning left really exciting for traffic on the Canadian Tire side of the intersection! I cannot think of an intersection that I have driven through that allows two lanes of left turning traffic unless the opposing traffic streams are staggered. First one side goes, then the other side goes, then cross traffic goes.

In the absence of traffic control devices put at the intersection to specifically control turns, this applies:

Turning at intersections

165 (2) When the driver of a vehicle intends to turn it to the left at an intersection where traffic is permitted to move in both directions on each highway entering the intersection, the driver must

(a) cause the vehicle to approach the intersection in the portion of the right side of the roadway that is nearest the marked centre line, or if there is no marked centre line, then as far as practicable in the portion of the right half of the roadway that is nearest the centre line,

The other thing that would prevent the curb lane left turn regardless of the signal timing is the arrow painted on the lane. It is a traffic control device that tells drivers using the lane that they must proceed straight through. Turning is not allowed. Disobeying is expensive, currently a $121 and 2 penalty points.

With the RCMP detachment just across the road, it would seem to indicate that drivers would rather do what is expedient rather than what they are supposed to.

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With the RCMP detachment just across the road, it would seem to indicate that drivers would rather do what is expedient rather than what they are supposed to.

Perhaps there's a perception on the part of those drivers making these illegal maneuvers, that their actions will be ignored by the police, even when they're so close by.

If that's the case, then this thread becomes all the more important, methinks.