Generally OK, using prudent judgement (stop, first). Watch for signs specifically disallowing it, though - a fair number in urban areas. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...-have-to-turn-right-on-a-red/article14475218/ .
If you ride as though it is meant to NOT be fun....then you are doing it right by Ontario standards.....also, feel free to wander about in your own little world....that is also the standard practice here in Ontario.
You can pass on a double yellow. Even some cops don't know this. I had one look it up. You can't pass on a double white though. Lyle
Double White? WTF??....Never heard or seen a double white line. In fact:http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/section3.4.0.shtml
Ah, Ontario. Canada's very own Nanny State. Thoughts? So, I get a ticket in May. Mail in the request for a trial. Always make the fuckers prove their case. Hear nothing. Nada. Zilch. Hey, I've got two daughters in uni, six dogs. My plate is full. Yesterday I get stopped. Runs my licence. Appears I've been suspended since August. So, now I have a summons to appear for driving suspended. I had no idea I'd been convicted. I had no idea I'd been suspended. Notifications were sent to my physical address (the address required by LAW) on my drivers licence. But, our morons at the post office don't deliver to our homes, just our rural mailboxes. Bottom line. I'm out 300$ and have a court date! I'm going to reopen the original case. They tell me I can do that if I swear an affidavit claiming I never got a trial date. This should negate the suspension? What a can of worms......simply because MTO is too stupid to send stuff to your mailing address. Lyle
You are not allowed to pass on any white line, but apparently there is at least one exception that I'm aware of. You can pass (if somebody is turning and blocking the roadway) on a shoulder if it's paved, and shoulders are bordered by a white line. I just learned one the other day. You can turn left on a red, as long as the roads you are turning on to, and from are one way. Coincidentally, I was in Hamilton the next day, and took advantage.
That an 'merican sign? cause I have never seen or recall seeing a double white on Ontario roads. :huh
Turning right on a red is allowed if it is safe to so unless there is a sign saying it is not allowed. As far as passing goes, the pass must otherwise meet all the legal requirements (Safety, distance from crest of hill, bridge, train crossing, etc.) ..Tom
One may pass on a solid pair of yellow lines? Honestly ? I thought that such was only permitted in order to overtake parked police and ambulance , stalled vehicles or slow moving farm vehicles after slowing down and determining that such a pass can be made safely. I learned long ago , before centrelines were made yellow and before white lines were moved to mark the outside edges of the highway and to serve as lane dividers on multiple- one-way-lane roads , as on 401. It depends also on what class of paved road you are on . The provincial highways and the top class county and regional highways will have centrelines with paired yellow , solid and dashes , two solid or two sets of dashes. The rule used (?, still is?) to be that you could pass only when the dashed line was on your side. Makes sense on insides of curves when you have the better sight lines. No exceptions for motorcycles. And only idiots would overtake on solid double yellows going up a blind hill. However on the low ranking rural paved roads yellow lines are marked on only as an indication for the center of the road . They are usually solid yellow and they go on forever, even on flat straights with a view to the horizon. S o yes, on that kind of road passing is to be allowed across a solid yellow IF it is seen to be safe. Now to add to the mix - At intersections equipped with automatic red-amber- green control light systems it's allowed to travel straight through /turn L or R on a red light under limited circumstances. Namely if the traffic light is of such a design that it remains red for an inordinate length of time because the small mass of the motorcycle does not trigger a change of the lights . One must come to a full stop , perform all signalling if making a turn, observe any traffic and proceed only when the way is clear and the crossing or turn can be made safely and without impeding the flow of the other traffic . Common sense safety in other words. It is treated no different than a single red stop light or the octagon STOP sign. These magnetic mass sensors in the asphalt will also ignore motorcycles waiting for a left -turn -green even when cars in the other direction are offered that courtesy . At least these were the explanations given me by OPP when I asked . I have done these kinds of turns and crossings often enough and have never had the luck of being observed or stopped by a cop . Have any of you ever been stopped or ticketed for finding yourself doing this? PS : double white lines are still in use - they are placed on freeways like the 401 through Toronto to separate the the High Occupancy Vehicle ( HOV) lanes from the regular traffic flow. Someday soon they will probably make the HOV into toll lanes . This is already the case elsewhere. For example in Atlanta I - 85 to the east has HOV lanes marked off only by double white lines and toll costs vary in sectors from interchange to interchange and furthermore they vary by the time of day and traffic demand!
The center lines are ADVISORY. Last I looked the is nothing in the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h08_e.htm#BK224) to say you cannot pass on sold lines double or otherwise as long as you meet all the other legal criteria for passing. I believe that as far as HOV lines go, I don't think the colour of the lines means anything, it is the fact that there is a sign saying not to cross those lines that matters. ..Tom
I don't think that was ever the case in Ontario. I would bet that most people don't know about this particular (lack of ) law. That's why I mentioned it. I pass on the double/solid lines all the time and always get either honked at, or get the finger
And you're perfectly legal doing so. I had a LEO pull me over for passing on a double yellow. I told him to look it up. He did. I was correct. He told me he'd handed out many tickets to drivers passing on double yellows. Knowledge is power. Lyle
In Ontario, which has more rules than anyone could possibly remember, the Highway Traffic Act sets out the situations where it is illegal to drive left of centre. There is nothing written about paint on the road, it is simply a guide line. However it is illegal to drive left of centre within 150 metres of a railway crossing, bridge, viaduct or tunnel, crest of a grade or curve. There are also sections referring to crosswalks and lane signs, ie if the arrow says left turn only, you must turn left. You will notice some municipalities using a single yellow line where according to to HTA its safe to pass, and other places have a double line or in the city there are often none, plus they are often covered with snow! Hope this helps clarify a little. Read the Act for details , if you are so inclined, I'm no expert.
Let's throw out a few more misconceptions. Passing on the right. No law against that, you are free to do so, as long as it's safe. Changing lanes in an intersection. I was told in my driver's ed. class that this was an infraction. There is no law against this.
