Signs & Signals

Sometime around 15 to 20 years ago I remember reading in one of the Courtenay newspapers, someone from the City of Courtenay saying that they were changing the timing of the lights in intersections from (possibly) a half second to a full second – meaning all the lights would be red for this amount of time.

During one of my Elder College presentations I work through a module on traffic signs and lane markings with the students. Driving examiners tell me that this is one area that older drivers have trouble with if they are called in for a re-examination. Based on discussions in the forum on the DriveSmartBC web site I can truthfully say that older drivers are not the only ones having difficulty with signs.

I have to ask, what the rule is on running red lights when the signals are broken or not functioning correctly.

Is it within the Motor Vehicle Act to enter an intersection on a yellow light with the intent to turn left only if you stop first before entering the intersection?

Same question except you don't stop before you enter the intersection.

Consider the simple traffic sign or signal.  It stands by the side of the highway doing it’s job regardless of the season.  We rely on it to tell us when to stop, how fast to go, which way to turn or whether we can travel in a certain direction as well as many other controlling functions. This is a reliance that we might not consider until we run into trouble because it is lacking.

You are traveling on Cliffe Avenue and going to turn right at 5th Street in Courtenay with the green turning arrow lit.  If there is a car turning left onto 5th Street (which you can only do at certain times of the day) who has the right of way - the person turning right with the green signal light or the person turning left but also with a green light?

Question: Last week on my daily walk, my friend and I were crossing the old Island Highway at the bottom of Bay Street. It looked like we had a lot of time but oddly a younger aggressive driver actually sped up as we were crossing. It was no where a near miss (or hit depending on perspective) but it made me question that there are no crosswalks for close to a kilometre.

Have all wheel drive and four wheel drive pickup new f150. Mud and snow rated tires. Does this truck require chains on all wheels when chain up signs are on. Truck can be switched from two wheel drive to these options. Are chains just needed for the rears?

I need to know how long a yellow traffic light at an intersection should stay yellow for? I realize that the posted speed has to be taken into account and if there are advanced flashing amber lights.

Question: Can you please tell me if there is a standard or exact distance that residential speed signs should have between them? or how many per block there should be? Anything related to these sort of questions.