Passing

Cycling advocates in BC would like to see our government enact a safe passing distance law so that drivers are aware of how much space they must leave between their vehicle and the cycle as they drive by. Two US cities, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Knowville, Kentucky have such laws and were chosen by NHTSA for a study of how high visibility enforcement of the law influenced passing distances.

The case of Doyle v Hubick determines the liability for a two vehicle collision on the Sea to Sky Highway 32 km south of Pemberton. Both vehicles reached the end of the passing lane at about the same time. The drivers were unable to decide who should pull ahead and who should drop back ultimately resulting in a crash.

Question: It seems to be a regular occurrence on our single highway Gibsons / Sechelt community to use the bus stops on the right side of the highway as passing lanes for those cars queued up behind a car turning left. I have thought it illegal to do this, so I wait behind the left tuning vehicle until they clear the highway. Can I pass on the right here?

According to Tuning Up For Drivers on page 102, passing other vehicles is a manoeuvre that should be used sparingly. If you’re behind a vehicle that’s going well below the speed limit, you may want to pass. But if it’s not very far to where you plan to turn off, then passing may not be smart.

According to the BC Cycling Coalition on average, four cyclists are injured in a collision with a motor vehicle each day in BC. The group is attempting to convince government that a minimum 1.5m passing distance should be made into law to help stop these collisions.

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.

Question: I was driving down Pinetree Way in Coquitlam and had a slow driver in front of me, maybe driving about 25 to 30 km/h. After passing the intersection of Tanager Court, I overtook a slow car over a single solid yellow line since there was no other traffic on both sides and it was safe to do so.

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.