Driving at intersections isn’t glamorous. But, it’s something you have to do if you’re going to actually get where you’re going. And, if you want to get there in one piece, you must do this well. Not to be dramatic. It’s just the truth.
Driving instructors like to break it down into little pieces so that learning about driving at intersections isn’t too intimidating. It’s complicated enough.
Intersections are the #1 most common location for collisions to happen. After that, parking lots are the #2 place, if you can believe that. Most collisions happen ‘close to your home.’
I suppose this is because people start thinking about other things, aren’t as cautious; they’ve driven down that road 1 million times and they’re kind of on auto-pilot. But they shouldn’t be.
Everyone knows about the normal turns, but do you ever wonder if you can turn left on a red light? Do you ever wonder about whether you’re supposed to pull into the intersection while you’re turning left?
Turning right on a red light is something a lot of new drivers hear you can do. A lot of them don’t realize that you must fully and completely stop first. That’s just good to know. Simple math. Red means stop.
Green means go, right? Not really. Green means that it might be safe to go, but you still need to check by scanning from left to right before you enter intersections.
Especially when the light first changes to green. That is the most dangerous time. Drivers may be trying to ‘beat the light.’
Did you know it’s not actually illegal to change lanes inside an intersection in Beautiful British Columbia? It’s just a very bad idea.
What about yield signs and upside down yield signs? Those are found at intersections, too.
Intersections are a lot when you’re new at driving. But so very important. So take your time, be careful, and practice a lot. There’s no such thing as too much practice. Just make sure to take some breaks; intersections can drive people crazy.
No, entrances to driveways, back lanes and parking lots are not considered intersections from a legal standpoint. These are simply entrances to private or public property. Vehicles exiting these places must stop before continuing.
Uncontrolled intersections have no signs or lights. Be extra careful because other people may not notice. Look at the back of any sign that the other traffic may be facing.
If you see no signs, it’s an uncontrolled intersection. Vehicles are not necessarily required to stop (depending on visibility), but should apply extreme caution, slow down and scan for traffic.
Drivers should yield to whichever vehicle arrived first. If two vehicles arrive at the same time, yield to your right; left turns should yield to straight-through traffic; left turns should yield to right turns. When unsure, demonstrate courtesy.
Traffic Light Inventions Are you wondering who invented the traffic light? Look no further. In this article we will drive right into all of the juicy details. And we will find out how this all began. Not sure about you, but personally I love traffic lights. I wish I was the one who invented it. …
Who Invented The Traffic Light? Thrilling History Revealed Read More »
Shell Road, Richmond Train tracks and Right Turns at Red Lights Question: Can I turn right on a red light at this intersection? It’s Shell Road and 91 East-West Connector?Can I go through the first red light after I stop? And drive to the second white line/red light or do I have to stay stopped …
Shell Road And 91 East-west Connector Right Turns Read More »
Traffic Signal Anticipation When we talk about traffic signal anticipation, we are talking about the traffic lights changing. More specifically when they may be changing from green to yellow. Are you driving towards a fresh green light, or is it stale? When you’re driving towards an intersection, this is one of the things you need …
There seems to be a lot of confusion about This Ah the yellow light. Traffic light, that is. Everyone knows about the green light and the red light, I think. But it seems, over time, people forget about the true meaning of the beautiful amber traffic light. Especially when you simply observe many drivers, who …
5-Way Stop 🛑 Yep, the 5-way stop is a real thing. And to cut straight to the point, it works exactly like the 4-way stop sign intersection. It’s exactly the same thing as an ‘all-way stop;’ all way simply meaning ‘everyone.’ These 5-way stop intersections are pretty rare in my experience, but they do pop …
Green Lights and things Some new drivers ask this question and it’s about the green light vs green arrow. Both are beautiful green things found at intersections. So, what’s the difference? Since they are green lights, do they simply mean ‘go’? Maybe they mean go, but go where exactly? That’s the real question. Remember also …
Scan Intersections When the light goes green What are we talking about here? I think we’re talking about that thing about how ‘green means go’ and basically how it’s not actually true. We are talking about the need to scan intersections before driving through them. Scan Intersections When the Light Changes This is especially important …
Life Saving Habits: Scan Intersections Before Proceeding Read More »
Traffic Light Visibility Issues Trucks, buses, and other large vehicles present us with reduced visibility If you’ve been driving for a while, or if you are just beginning, you may have noticed this perceived ‘phenomenon.’ Traffic light visibility seems sometimes nonexistent. You know there’s an intersection, but where is the traffic light? What color is …
Traffic Light Visibility & Buses Or Large Vehicles Read More »
Why is there a circle in the middle of the road? You may sometimes find traffic circles in residential areas and other spots, too. Today we will discuss the residential traffic circle, which is a small circle. These are different from traffic roundabouts. Engineers design residential traffic circles to increase safety and to slow down …
What is ‘right of way’? It’s a little different from ‘right away’ that’s for sure. Whenever someone says ‘right of way’ they are talking about an understanding that drivers have, with regards to which vehicle is going to go first before another vehicle, in a driving situation. Very generally speaking, the rules go like this: …
Uncommon Intersections Vancouver is a beautiful city. But it leaves us with a slight predicament when intersections are much larger than normal due to being divided by a boulevard. For example, King Edward and MacDonald. Many drivers get confused here and with good reason. First of all, review some basic principles of turning left. Entering …
Question about pedestrian-controlled traffic light intersections Pedestrian-controlled intersections are confusing. Scenario: North and South have normal intersection traffic lights. East and West (this situation side street) have a stop sign. Does East West traffic not have an obligation to still stop at a stop sign before proceeding or does East West traffic now have the …
Intersections: Pedestrian-Controlled Traffic Lights Just Confuse Everyone Read More »
Safe Driving Habits: Keeping Tires Straight If you’re wondering if you need to keep your tires straight while turning left, keep reading. The answer is, YES, Please do. If you’re rear-ended while waiting, and your tires and vehicle are straight, then your vehicle will be pushed straight ahead. This would be bad, but not the …
Should I Keep my Tires Straight when Waiting to Turn Left? Read More »
Question: I was curious about the dark-traffic-light rule. Common advice seems to be to treat the intersection as a 4-way stop, but what should you do when NOBODY is stopping at all. I watched at Quebec and National as nobody slowed or stopped. OK, it’s a three-way intersection (four-way if you add in the Science …
Question about Cyclists and Right Turns It would be great if you could tell what the law is for drivers and cyclists and right turns when meeting at stop lights. Specifically I want to know if a car is entitled, allowed, to drive around a cyclist. This is at a stop light when the cyclist …
Cyclists And Right Turns at a Red Traffic Lights Read More »
Question on turning corners: ‘Not Wide Enough’ Q: I recently failed my driving test, one of the things I did badly was turning corners. I was turning left at a 90 degree angle. The examiner wrote “your turns are not wide enough” so does that mean I turned too early? If so, how do I …
Turning Corners Not Awesome? How to Stop Cutting Corners and Turning Wide Read More »
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