[XD]

Alright gotcha!

For those of you who thought I was going to ask a dumb stop sign question with an obvious answer.

I live in Abbotsford, and there are a number of stop signs where people will illegally roll past the stop line and inch into their right or left hand turn while they wait for an opening in traffic. I often find myself in the situation below:

My question is, if you are the car behind and the car infront of you inches up to the point of where you find yourself in a situation where you are stopped legally, in the right spot, at the stop line. Can you go when the person infront of you goes (essentially two cars at once) since you already made your complete stop at the line and determined that the coast is clear to go or is this classes as running a stop sign? This obviously would not appy at intersections where another car may be waiting with right of way, but what about in situations where there is only one stop sign with a left or right option to turn on a road?

Thanks,
XD

 

[DMMcG]

As far as I'm concerned, if you have stopped in accord with the provisions of the Act, and there are no other vehicles that have a right of way that subordinates yours, then drive on through the intersection.

I have refused to "stop twice" on a number of occasions where the stop line is a ways back from the intersection, and the car in front doesn't stop until they're in the intersection, but I stop behind them. No point in stopping a second time, as long as it's safe to proceed.

The problem you've got with "two cars at once" (because the person in front hasn't complied with the Act) arises where another motorist is left with the impression that it's "their turn". Regardless of how the person in front of you flouts the law, you don't want to put yourself into a situation where you're trying to argue that you've got the right of way, 'cause the person in front "should have gone and didn't", or "was already into the intersection, so their turn doesn't count", etc.

The design of our highways and the painting of the stop lines leaves much to be desired, so there are instances where you can't avoid "stopping twice".....'cause you just can't see oncoming traffic from the stop line as it's painted on the road.

 

[skidmark]

I agree with Dale, by stopping at the marked stop line and then proceeding when it is safe to do so, you have fulfilled the requirements:

Stopping at intersections

186 Except when a peace officer directs otherwise, if there is a stop sign at an intersection, a driver of a vehicle must stop

(a) at the marked stop line, if any,

(b) before entering the marked crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or

(c) when there is neither a marked crosswalk nor a stop line, before entering the intersection, at the point nearest the intersecting highway from which the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting highway.

If it looks like two cars at once and someone is doing traffic enforcement, you may have to do some explaining as they may stop you.

 

[steve604]

i thought i remembered reading somewhere that you have to wait for the vehicle in front of you to complete their turn and be clear of the intersection before you can go.

i used to turn left right behind the person in front of me but got caught too many times behind a person that can't seem to find their go pedal after making the turn. i had a close call a few years ago turning onto 8th ave by the abby airport where the speed is 70. the guy in front of me made the turn at decent acceleration but didn't make up above 40 after completing the turn. there was a dump truck coming up behind a little faster than the speed limit. i honked the horn and that caused the brake lights to come on in front of me. i violently moved onto the shoulder and the dump truck used his brakes just enough to avoid hitting the guy in front.. i'm pretty sure the guy in front was completely oblivious to what was going on and probably still does the same thing.

there are plenty of signs around that say "slow down" this guy was really just doing what the signs said even though he probably had the inability to read them.

ever since that day i've always waited for the driver in front to complete his turn and get out of the way.

 

[skidmark]

ever since that day i've always waited for the driver in front to complete his turn and get out of the way.

An excellent point! No use getting yourself trapped in a position where someone else is going to collide with you...

 

[Paul]

The design of our highways and the painting of the stop lines leaves much to be desired, so there are instances where you can't avoid "stopping twice".....'cause you just can't see oncoming traffic from the stop line as it's painted on the road.

In Alberta the painted stop lines and cross walk lines are much harder to see than they are in B.C.
Here the stop lines are the width of what would be crosswalk lines in B.C. and the crosswalk lines are the width of regular lane marking lines. It is often extremely difficult to see these lines when you come up on them at the best of times and, they do seem to take their own sweet time repainting the lines in this province. Also they tend not to remove old lane markings if the lanes or intersection changes, rather they let them fade out on their own. It can be quite frustrating because inattentive drivers follow the old markings or they get confused and straddle both sets of markings because they don't know where they should be.