British Columbia handbook · chapter 6 · 26 min read

Sharing the road

in this chapter

• Sharing the road safely
• Pedestrians
• Cyclists
• Motorcycle riders
• Passenger vehicles sharing the road

The last five chapters presented important driving information that can help you develop your smart driving skills. The next three chapters give suggestions on how you can apply this information to your driving. Knowing how to share the road is an important part of keeping safe when driving. In this chapter, you will learn who you share the road with and how to share the road safely with them.

Sharing the road safely • Large vehicles • School buses At the scene of a crash • Public transit buses Walter is speeding along Pine Street in his van. He’s in a hurry to turn left at the intersection before the light turns. He gets into the intersection and quickly swings to the left. Jodi is riding her motorcycle along Pine Street in the opposite direction. She wants to go straight through, and she has just enough time to make it before the light turns yellow. Jodi assumes that Walter has seen her. • Emergency vehicles • Emergency workers • Construction zones • Trains • Horses The result is a crash that seriously injures Jodi and sends Walter to the hospital with minor injuries.

Be aware of other road users who may want to use the space you plan to move into.

In this crash scene, both Walter and Jodi tried to move into the same space at the same time. By law, Walter should have stopped for Jodi before making his turn. But he didn’t see the motorcycle coming. Jodi may have had the right-of-way, but she still should have looked carefully for vehicles in the intersection before riding through.