Driving rules, BC
 

Off to BC for a two week holiday at the weekend (:D) and just thought I'd check a couple of driving rules..

1) What are general speed limits for city and country driving? (Although I do seem to remember that they were generally well sign posted)
2) Can one turn right on a red light, so long as one stops first?
3) What are the rules for giving way to pedestrians? I seem to remember, as a pedestrian in Edmonton, multi-lane highways screeching to a halt if I so much as looked at the road... which was a bit embarrassing, but don't recall noticing it so badly elsewhere. Edmonton peculiarity, or something I as a driver should be prepared to do?

(Oh, and if anyone could give me pointers on who has right of way at a 4 way stop I'd be grateful. 4th driving trip to N. America, and I still can't work it out! :o)

Thanks :)

1) What are general speed limits for city and country driving? (Although I do seem to remember that they were generally well sign posted) Very well posted - hard to mistake
2) Can one turn right on a red light, so long as one stops first? Yes
3) What are the rules for giving way to pedestrians? I seem to remember, as a pedestrian in Edmonton, multi-lane highways screeching to a halt if I so much as looked at the road... which was a bit embarrassing, but don't recall noticing it so badly elsewhere. Edmonton peculiarity, or something I as a driver should be prepared to do? yes, stop for all pedestrians - not sure if it's a hard and fast rule - but you don't want to hit a pedestrian.
(Oh, and if anyone could give me pointers on who has right of way at a 4 way stop I'd be grateful. 4th driving trip to N. America, and I still can't work it out! :o) The first person there has the right of way - if two people stop at the same time - it's the person to your right who you should give way to.
Thanks :)[/QUOTE]

I haven't been to Edmonton yet, but in Vancouver it's the same. Just looking at the road the wrong way can make people stop. It drove me crazy as a driver and pedestrian, and I never got used to it even after 5 years. It might be an East-West divide. In Toronto (where I grew up), they wouldn't stop for you. You could walk to the middle of a 6 lane road with traffic going 80kph on either side of you and wait for a gap. Very efficient when you get used to it. In Montreal, on the other hand, I'm convinced that drivers actually aim for you if you walk into the road!! :D :D

Have a good trip,

Dr. PITUK

>What are general speed limits for city and country driving?

Much lower than you are used to in the UK.

City: Generally 50 kph, although in general the traffic flow goes faster than that. In the country, 80 kph on the highway, 100 kph on the "dual carriageways' and 110 kph in some rural "dual carriageways." 'Generally' you'll be fine as long as you don't exceed 10 kph over the posted limit.

>2) Can one turn right on a red light, so long as one stops first?

Yes, and left as well, if it's into a one-way.

>What are the rules for giving way to pedestrians?

Yield to pedestrians.

>(Oh, and if anyone could give me pointers on who has right of way at a 4 way stop I'd be grateful. 4th driving trip to N. America, and I still can't work it out!

From: http://www.icbc.com/claims-repairs/bi_enteredPU.asp

"The vehicle that arrives at the intersection first and enters the intersection prior to another vehicle has the right of way. If two vehicles arrive at an intersection controlled by four-way stop signs at approximately the same time, the vehicle on the right has the right of way."

Couple of other ones that confuse my English relatives:

- Treat a blinking red light like a stop sign.

- A blinking green traffic light is a pedestrian-activated stop light. They can push a button to make it go read to cross the street.

- Blinking amber: Proceed with caution.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada

thanks for those answers :) ^

(and for the additional one - particularly the left turn into a one-way street, its one that did confuse me last time as well, but I'd forgotten about it :))

Thought I'd through some comment in also...

Speed limits
Yes, as Geoff say generally 50km/hr on regular "busy" streets in the city with the traffic flowing faster than that. I would cautiously say that you can drive up to 10km/hr over (except in 30km/hr zones) without getting a ticket.
Watch out for some streets along parks, though construction areas, and some lanes where the speed limit drops to 30km/hr.

Pedestrians
Talking to a coworker in Edmonton, they raised fines for crosswalk infractions due to a number of pedestrian accidents. My buddy received a $700 ticket (yup, seven hundred) for not yielding to a pedestrian that was just about to enter a crosswalk. I was driving behind him and watched it occur. The pedestrian wasn't even at the curb yet but he got the ticket. I stopped for the pedestrian though :)

Realistically, whenever the pedestrian has a green light to cross or wants to cross in an identified crosswalk, you should be yeilding to them. In an uncontrolled intersection, middle of the street, etc. pedestrians usually exercise caution by yielding to the car. I don't think the average pedestrian expects you to stop along a busy street to allow them to cross (crosswalk & pedestrian controlled light excluded).
What's the law? I'm not sure. But in the end, who wants to end up having to deal with hitting a pedestrian with their car? Just be cautious.

Four Way Stop
Yes, first person there gets the right of way unless of course, pedestrians muck up the order and everyone gets confused. ;)

Miscellaneous
I find that there's way less driving courtesy in North America than in the UK (eg. Slower traffic doesn't yield to the right lane for faster traffic).
There's no speed photo radar anymore in BC but there are red light cameras.
Seatbelts are mandatory.

Be aware of cars pulling out into the right lane from sidestreets so the driver can "see" if it is clear for them to enter the main avenues.

In addition to pedestrians we also have a wealth of cyclists on our roads. Bike lanes are marked on some main streets and some quieter side streets are designated as bike commuting streets--please take notice and take extra care.

From my experience, drivers in Vancouver don't stop when turning on red, but rather do a "California" rolling stop (yes, we invented it way back when), so YMMV

Thanks for the additional pointers. I've grown up wearing a seatbelt, so its automatic to put it on, so that's not a problem (in fact feels strange to drive without one!). I live in a city with a large number of cyclists, so the cycling thing isn't a problem either - we have cycle lanes in all kinds of strange places.

And no, I wouldn't want to hit a pedestrian. OTOH, over here although cars are meant to yield to pedestrians, we don't. So pedestrians learn to take responsibility for their safety by not walking out in front of oncoming traffic expecting it to stop - so its one thing I will have to be aware of, as I'm not used to pedestrians doing such "stupid" "unexpected"* things. So thanks for the heads up there! :) Hopefully, those of you resident in Vancouver and Vancouver Island will survive my little jaunt as a result :D

*In the sense that they are in my normal driving conditions ;)

One more question - overtaking on multi-lane highways, can one undertake? (Ie pass on the inside, or in the right hand lane, slower moving traffic in the left hand lane). Its technically illegal here, but I know its allowed in some countries.

Oh - and two days to go! :D :D :D

If passing on the right is illegal, I don't think I've heard anyone being pullover for it. I do it all the tme. :D Not that we have many highways with more than 2 lanes anyway.

>(eg. Slower traffic doesn't yield to the right lane for faster traffic).

VERY good point. This is practiced much better in the UK - Over here it rarely happens.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver

Doesn't a blinking green indicate advanced green, meaning that that lane can turn left and oncoming traffic has a red? It's always meant that in Ontario.
Pedestrian signals are normally white and amber.

Not in Vancouver it doesn't!

You get a blinking left (or right) green arrow in such a case.

FWIW, left turn on red (after a stop) is allowed except where specifically prohibited.

>Doesn't a blinking green indicate advanced green, meaning that that lane can turn left and oncoming traffic has a red?

Only in Ontario - The OP is coming to British Columbia, where the left turn signal is a blinking arrow.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada