Question: If a vehicle is stopped and waiting to make a left turn, is it legal for other vehicles to pass it on the right?
Answer: Here on the Sunshine Coast, motorists frequently encounter a vehicle stopped in the travel lane, waiting to turn left and causing vehicles behind to stop. The question for the driver behind the stopped vehicle then becomes whether to pass on the right or wait for the first driver to make the turn.
When a vehicle is indicating it will be turning left, you may pass on the right if there is sufficient room to safely pass without driving off the roadway (due to the width of the roadway or the presence of another lane). This means that you can safely pass without driving off the pavement or over the white fog line which separates the roadway from the shoulder.
Let’s look at some local examples: On Teredo Street in Sechelt, the roadway is wide enough in some places that if a southbound vehicle is stopped and waiting to turn left, another vehicle can safely pass along the right of it. However, in areas of Selma Park and Wilson Creek, the only way a vehicle could pass on the right would be to cross over the fog line, and possibly even have to drive onto the gravel shoulder. Crossing the fog line or driving off the pavement is illegal, because both constitute driving off of the “roadway.”
The other thing to keep in mind is that you should only pass on the right if the vehicle directly in front of you is indicating a left turn. If the first vehicle in line is waiting to turn left but the second vehicle in line is not signalling a left turn, you should wait and not pass that second vehicle. That second vehicle is not turning left, so the laws about passing a vehicle turning left do not apply. It can also create a dangerous situation if the first vehicle completes the left turn and the second vehicle starts to drive ahead while you are still trying to complete the pass.
To clarify, the above rules only apply when a vehicle is indicating it will be making a left turn. The only other situation where you may pass on the right is where the roadway is divided into two or more marked lanes for the movement of traffic in the same direction. This means that in our Teredo Street example you could not pass a moving vehicle on the right; however, you could do so on the Langdale Bypass.
Keep your driving simple and safe. If you can safely and legally pass on the right, doing so may help keep traffic flowing, but if you’re going to have to take your car through the pothole car wash on the gravel shoulder, better get in line and wait your turn.
(Question the Constable! is a segment featured by the Sunshine Coast RCMP. Submit questions via email: [email protected]. Do not report crimes through email; this account is not monitored 24/7.)
