Right of Way at Hudson & 70th

Question: I want to know about right of way at Hudson Street and 70th Avenue in Vancouver. I am traveling northbound on Hudson, have the green light and want to turn west onto 70th. Someone traveling southbound on Hudson stops at the stop sign and then turns west onto 70th. Who has the right of way?

View of the Location

Two Separate Intersections

This situation is really two separate "T" intersections that are very close together.

The Green Light

Let's first look at what the green light means to the driver northbound on Hudson approaching 70th:

127 (1) When a green light alone is exhibited at an intersection by a traffic control signal,

(a) the driver of a vehicle facing the green light

(i) may cause the vehicle to proceed straight through the intersection, or to turn left or right, subject to a sign or signal prohibiting a left or right turn, or both, or designating the turning movement permitted,

(ii) must yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully in the intersection or in an adjacent crosswalk at the time the green light is exhibited, and

(iii) must yield the right of way to vehicles lawfully in the intersection at the time the green light became exhibited, and

That driver is allowed to enter the intersection and turn left, subject to the requirement to yield to road users already lawfully in the intersection.

The Stop Sign

The driver southbound on Hudson approaching 70th faces a stop sign. Traffic on 70th is controlled by a traffic signal at this intersection.

What is a Through Highway?

Things get complicated here so let's first look at a definition:

"through highway" means a highway or part of a highway at the entrances to which stop signs are erected under this Act;

Entering a Through Highway

The driver at the stop sign is about to enter a through highway.

175 (1) If a vehicle that is about to enter a through highway has stopped in compliance with section 186,

(a) the driver of the vehicle must yield the right of way to traffic that has entered the intersection on the through highway or is approaching so closely on it that it constitutes an immediate hazard, and

(b) having yielded, the driver may proceed with caution.

(2) If a vehicle is entering a through highway in compliance with subsection (1), traffic approaching the intersection on the highway must yield the right of way to the entering vehicle while it is proceeding into or across the highway.

An Immediate Hazard

Traffic very near to or entering 70th from northbound on Hudson constitutes an immediate hazard if the driver southbound on Hudson turns right onto 70th and tries to go westbound, so they must yield until it is safe to proceed.

There's not a lot of room to accomplish this so it's probably safer to stay at the stop sign until there is no doubt that you could turn right and carry on through westbound. The hedge on the far side can hide a lot of drivers trying to make the end of the green northbound.

Never Rely on Drivers to Give Right of Way

My advice is NEVER rely on another driver to heed 175(2). While the law requires them to yield it will be the very rare driver that does.

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