Olympic Timing and the Left Turn Rule

The Olympics showed us what a difference a hundredth of a second can make—which is mind-boggling to say the least. Before, whole seconds seemed to race by. But we know these too can make a difference, and never more so when judging and safely executing a left turn has been a by-the-skin-of-your-teeth scenario. Every day, all over North America, millions of left turns are executed safely, yet statistically, they are one of the most dangerous driving maneuvers. At some point in their driving life, most drivers have had a left turn close call caused by a miscalculation that may have involved timing of less than a second.

The tricky bit of calculation for the left turner is safely asserting the right of way. A left-turning driver’s right of way arises under the BC Motor Vehicle Act when the driver’s vehicle is in the intersection, has signaled the turn “as required by sections 171 and 172,” and has yielded the right of way to traffic approaching from the opposite direction. At the point at which there is no longer oncoming traffic in the intersection or “so close as to constitute an immediate hazard,” the left turning driver “may turn the vehicle to the left, and traffic approaching the intersection from the opposite direction must yield the right of way to the vehicle making the left turn.”

In other words, left turning signaling drivers who have moved into the intersection on the green light (as permitted), are fully entitled to assert their left turn right of way, once they have calculated that this can be done safely. Technically they needn’t wait until all oncoming traffic has fully stopped (usually, by then, for the red light)—only determine that the oncoming traffic is not “so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.” These time-savings may be enough to allow other vehicles behind to also safely execute the left turn, which helps ease traffic flow.

Many left turners seem unaware that it is permissible to pull into the intersection on a steady green light and to assert their left turn right of way before oncoming traffic has fully stopped. This applies even when the steady green light follows a flashing green arrow that dedicates part of the traffic control cycle to left turns only. (Once the green arrow has turned off, however, left turners must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and oncoming traffic.)

Many left turners, who may know the left turn right of way rule, nevertheless appear hesitant about applying it. Many drivers stuck behind an overly hesitant left turner honk their annoyance, their call to action, their signifying of a hazard. Consider, however, that the hesitant left turner may have the best vantage point and good reason. The left turner may be influenced by the problem that many drivers wrongly regard yellow lights as a signal to accelerate through the intersection and some treat full-on red lights similarly. Reasonably cautious left turners are more likely to be crash-free, safe left turners.

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