Twice in the past week I’ve watched drivers who were stopped legally in the intersection signalling a left turn back out of the intersection when the traffic light that they were facing turned red. Why would a driver do this? The action is completely out of context and unsafe.
In this situation, surrounding traffic is not expecting these drivers to suddenly reverse. They will either pull directly up to the stop line or may even attempt to follow the left turn vehicle through on the red. At best there is no room to back into, interfering with cross traffic and at worst a collision will result.
In British Columbia it is not legal to move backwards over a crosswalk. This rule prohibits backing out of an intersection in urban locations.
Remember that a crosswalk does not have to be marked with paint on the roadway to exist.
These drivers had the right of way, once the signal they were facing turned red, to complete their left turn safely. Cross traffic cannot legally enter on the green until the left turn vehicle exits the intersection.
If anyone on the cross street honks at you, remember that they’re in the wrong.
Left turning drivers also have the benefit of the red light overlap, a signal phase where all directions are shown a red light. It’s brief, but it will give you a moment where all traffic should be stopped and you can complete your turn.
Remember, once you have entered an intersection, the proper way out is by going forward. Backing out of the situation is not the correct choice.
Story URL: https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/intersections/backing-out-intersection— Tim Schewe Road Safety Advocate DriveSmartBC.ca
