Courteous Miramichiers Can Make Dangerous Drivers

Yesterday around noon there was a car accident in Douglastown near the intersection of Rennie Road and King George Highway. I drove by just after it happened, before any emergency vehicles had arrived. If you have ever tried to get on to the KGH from any of the businesses near that spot, you know it sometimes takes patience and caution to get into the lane on the opposite side of the road without getting T-Boned. Yesterday a half ton and a white car collided, causing extensive damage to the car, but luckily the drivers of the vehicles and the two children in the white care were all ok.

The cause of the accident? Witnesses say it was a courteous motorist who yielded their right-of-way so one of the vehicles in the accident could make a left-hand turn. Someone who attended to the drivers in one of the vehicles before emergency crews got there said the good Samaritan left the scene.

A few years ago, a friend of mine got into a car accident at the same location, and the cause was the same too. He was travelling east on the King George Highway, and was approaching where City Argo is located. At that point in the road, the KGH goes from 1 lane to 2 lanes, and my friend stayed in the right-hand lane as he approached the bridge. But a car in the left lane (travelling in the same direction), stopped to allow another driver to make a left-hand turn into the City Argo parking lot. The left-turning car accepted the driver's courteous gesture, and turned into the parking lot, but didn't see my friend in the other lane and the two collided. Luckily everyone was ok.

People who visit Miramichi always remark how friendly we are. It's something we take pride in. But being friendly should have its limits when it comes to the rules of the road.

Every day I find myself at the stop sign on Church Street where it intersects with John Street. Almost always I am waiting to turn left to go down John Street to Wellington. If someone is waiting at the stop sign on the other side of Church, frequently (and curiously) they want to yield their right of way to me and allow me to turn left before they pass through the intersection. I am turning. They are not. The right of way is theirs. Lately I am becoming more stubborn, and sit there until they figure it out.

On an insurance website, I found a discussion about understanding other examples of right of way.

Right Turn on Red

Making a right turn on red is legal at many intersections. Unless you see a sign indicating that no right turn on red may be made, you can legally do so after you stop at the red light and check for oncoming traffic. When you make a right turn on red, you must yield right of way to any other car proceeding through the intersection with a green light. This includes cars traveling forward and cars making a legal left turn on a solid green when it is safe to do so. Cars moving on a green light always have right of way over a car making a right turn on red.

Merging

Whether it is a lane that is ending or a freeway acceleration lane merging in to traffic, any car entering the flow of traffic must yield right of way to the cars already moving in a forward position. It’s common courtesy for vehicles on freeways and highways to change lanes and allow the merging car to join the flow of traffic, but right of way rules don’t require it. If you are traveling in a forward direction, you have right of way over anyone merging into your lane.

In a Parking Lot

Parking lots can cause some confusion as to right of way, since most of the intersections are not controlled by stop signs or other signage. If you are driving in any main thoroughfare in a parking lot that exits to a street, you have right of way over other cars that are entering that thoroughfare from smaller “feeder” lanes. When it comes to backing out of a parking space, cars already moving through the lane have right of way over a car that is backing out.

Leaving a Driveway

If you are pulling out of a driveway, whether it is a residential driveway or from a parking lot, and into traffic, you must always yield right of way to the drivers in the street. Any time you move into the flow of traffic out of a driveway, drivers already moving have the right of way over your vehicle, and you must wait until the traffic clears to proceed.

Right of way is one of the things that are taken into consideration by both police when handing out traffic violations and by insurance companies when determining fault in an accident. When in doubt, always yield the right of way to any vehicle that is already moving in a forward direction, or any time you are moving from a stopped position into the flow of traffic. You’ll prevent accidents and car insurance rate increases.