Passing

Question: Can you do an article on cars passing on the right? Especially when you are at an intersection on a two lane road and making a left turn. I have had cars whiz by me on the right because they were too impatient to wait.

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.

Q: I was driving down Pinetree Way in Coquitlam, BC, and had a slow driver in front of me, maybe driving about 25 to 30 km/h. After passing intersection of Tanager Court, I passed the slow car since there was no other traffic on both sides and safe to do so. The slow car turned out to be an unmarked police vehicle and I was stopped right away.

Austroads has released a publication that examines the impacts of passing lanes on safety, journey time and user experience and provides guidance to assist in the development of passing lane installation projects.

The sun is shining, the traffic is light and I'm actually enjoying my drive on the Inland Island Highway (technically speaking, it's a freeway) headed to Qualicum Beach. The only vehicle nearby is a car that is slowly overtaking me on the left. Not a problem as I'm travelling slightly under the 120 km/h speed limit.

Shan Khan was a pedestrian trying to cross 152nd Street at 81st Avenue in Surrey. She crossed to the median barrier dividing the four lanes of traffic and waited for the approaching vehicles to stop. When the vehicle using the lane nearest to her did stop, she began to cross. Unfortunately the driver behind that vehicle did not stop, changed lanes to pass it and struck Ms. Khan.

I don't know if you drive much along Hammond Bay Rd, but it can be pretty frustrating on garbage day, or even morning commute on school days, with buses stopping very 100 - 200 yds.

I dread the new "automatic" garbage trucks which I think will take far longer to pick up cans and put them down using hydraulics, rather than arm power.

Robert Pitman-Jelly was driving a tractor trailer southbound in the 9800 block of West Saanich Road in Victoria. His intent was to turn left into the driveway for the Marine Technology Center. To prepare for the turn, Mr. Pitman-Jelly moved to the right side of the road in order to make a wide left turn due to the length of his vehicle combination. He was aware of traffic around him and judged that he had sufficient time to make the turn safely. He signalled and started to make his turn only to have a passing vehicle collide with the left front corner of his tractor.

Harvey Truax stopped his empty B train combination on the shoulder of Highway 1 near Sorrento, B.C. He allowed the 4 vehicles that had been following him to pass by before he started to make a left turn across the highway into a pullout. His left signal was in operation and he had 300 to 400 m. of highway visible behind him. Finding no overtaking traffic, he began to move from the shoulder into the pullout across the highway.

Some incidents encountered during a career in policing stick with you for life and sometimes resurface later on as lessons learned. This memory involved a mother dropping her young son off for a birthday party by pulling over and stopping on the right side of the street. He exited the car and excited to join the festivities, ran to the back and darted across the street. He was struck and killed by a passing vehicle.