Some people could use reminders of road rules
This letter is in response to some recent “Ticked Off” comments in the Medicine Hat News about driving on the TransCanada Highway. One was about drivers failing to reach highway speeds when entering the highway plus, other drivers failing to move over to assist merging traffic. No one has the right of when when merging in Alberta Merging is a shared responsibility! The second “Ticked Off” comment was a response from a driver that received a hand gesture for failing to move out of the passing lane. Paraphrasing, the response was something like: For your information, I was doing the speed limit, so I can drive in any lane that I want! Unfortunately, in Alberta, it is apparently not illegal to drive in the passing lane, or at least, it is not enforced. However, in many other jurisdictions it is illegal, even if doing the speed limit. “Keep Right Except To Pass” signs, plus some driving refreshers may help prevent road rage.
So, my suggestion is to ask the News, in conjunction with traffic authorities, to consider periodically publishing some Alberta driving regulations. This might even be in the form of a question and answer column. To illustrate a perceived need, if one goes online to search “who has the right of way at an uncontrolled T intersection in Alberta” the answer may surprise some, because the answer is not universal, and can be different elsewhere.
Another factor that prompted this letter, regarding potential published driving subjects, relates to pavement markings. While consulting provincial and AMA authorities, I discovered a regulation that surprised me (if my interpretation is correct). I thought it was taboo to pass on a solid line! However, as stated in Alberta regulation15(1), quoted below, “in the case of a highway in an urban area where a single solid line only exists between traffic lanes, a person shall not drive the vehicle so that the vehicle or any portion of the vehicle crosses the single solid line from one traffic lane to another except when overtaking and passing another vehicle.”
Beware, however, driving regulations are not universal. As an example highway merging rules in Arizona and the right of way at uncontrolled T intersections are very different!
Gordon Briosi Medicine Hat