Who has the right of way?

Forums: Autos, Traffic, Ontario Rules Of The Road, Right Of Way
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If there is a car in the intersection, waiting to turn left & there is a car coming in the opposite direction, turning right & the light changes to yellow, who has the right of way?

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@janma,

janma wrote:

If there is a car in the intersection, waiting to turn left & there is a car coming in the opposite direction, turning right & the light changes to yellow, who has the right of way?

The way you have asked the question seems to indicate that the car making the left turn is already in the intersection when the light turns amber. Since the car making the right turn is stated to be coming in the opposite direction, the answer would be simple.

The car making the left turn would have the right of way since the car approaching should not, legally, be turning on the amber as it has already changed before he got to it.

It is also not legal for the car making the left turn to be in the intersection when the light turns red.

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While you have the right of way, because you are in the intersection, you may not turn into the oncoming lane before it is safe to do so. It is not against the law to sit in an intersection if the light turns red, but it is illegal to make the turn if it is not safe. You may not enter the intersection after the light turns red or on a late yellow. Both parties would probably get a ticket and may be held responsible or partially responsible for an accident.
Conversely, cars with the green light may not enter the intersection till it safe to do so either.

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@janma,

That depends on how big your car is, and how much it is worth.

((If you have a big junker and the other car is a new two seat sports car... you certainly have the right of way))

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@Ceili,

I stand corrected. Many, many years ago it was illegal to be in the intersection when the light turned red. It now seems that this and a few other things such as being allowed to pass on a solid yellow line have changed over the years. Time for me to do a refresher on the Ontario traffic laws.

Is it against the law to wait in an intersection until the light turns red before turning left?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions. Motorists approaching a signalized intersection intending to turn left should enter the intersection only on a green light. Once in the intersection the motorist should not complete their turn until it can be done in complete safety. If this means waiting through the amber light until the light turns red, that’s fine. You must ensure that all oncoming traffic has come to a stop.

I should point out, however, that the driver on the right always has the right of way. If the car turning left has an accident, regardless of the light colour, he will not escape blame. Even if the oncoming car came through a red light.

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@Intrepid,

Man, I'm glad I don't live in Ontario and have had very few occasions to drive in that province.

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@Merry Andrew,

I think this law is pretty much standard in N. America.

1 Reply

@Ceili,

I never, ever in my life have had to do any soul-searching as to whether I'm breaking the law or not when it comes to a left turn and I'm already in the intersection. You damn well better believe I'll finish that turn when the light turns amber or even red. I ain't sittin' in no damn intersection while traffic flows around me. Whoever came up with that law has a couple of screws loose, methinks.

Are people really so intimidated by oncoming traffic that they can't judge accurately when to floor the accelerator?

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@Merry Andrew,

Most accidents happen at intersections. I believe these laws were put in place to lessen these accidents. Intrepid is right in saying that the laws were changed, when I'm not sure.
This is also why there are turning lights or advance lights installed. Most cities and states/provinces have lists of the worst intersections and most are caused by people turning in front of oncoming cars and/or cars running red or stale yellow lights.
Mind you, most people think they are good drivers. Not necessarily true.

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@Intrepid,

Intrepid wrote:

I stand corrected. Many, many years ago it was illegal to be in the intersection when the light turned red. It now seems that this and a few other things such as being allowed to pass on a solid yellow line have changed over the years. Time for me to do a refresher on the Ontario traffic laws.

Is it against the law to wait in an intersection until the light turns red before turning left?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions. Motorists approaching a signalized intersection intending to turn left should enter the intersection only on a green light. Once in the intersection the motorist should not complete their turn until it can be done in complete safety. If this means waiting through the amber light until the light turns red, that’s fine. You must ensure that all oncoming traffic has come to a stop.

I should point out, however, that the driver on the right always has the right of way. If the car turning left has an accident, regardless of the light colour, he will not escape blame. Even if the oncoming car came through a red light.

I was entering the intersection on a green light and a guy to my right (perpendicular to me) came barrelling through the STOP sign. He was found to be completely in the wrong. It matters what kind of road you're on, too. If I'm on a major road and he's on a side road, and he smacks into me, he's thought to be in the wrong automatically. That happened to my husband. He was on the major road, thankfully.

1 Reply

@Mame,

Glad everything worked out alright.

Were you making a left? That was my point. In any case, you are correct regarding the types of road etc. Nothing is black & white. Except maybe the OPP patrol cars. Smile

1 Reply

@Intrepid,

No, I was going straight. I was responding to your statement that the guy on the right is always in the right.

He was okay, but it was a write-off which, as you know, you always lose with the insurance companies. It cost us a lot of money.

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@Merry Andrew,

Merry Andrew wrote:

Man, I'm glad I don't live in Ontario and have had very few occasions to drive in that province.

Good laws don't account for bad drivers and bad drivers don't obey the laws anyhow.

If you come to Ontario, I will drive you. Wink

1 Reply

@Mame,

Mame wrote:

No, I was going straight. I was responding to your statement that the guy on the right is always in the right.

He was okay, but it was a write-off which, as you know, you always lose with the insurance companies. It cost us a lot of money.

I was actually referring to the left turns. It seems that what I actually meant got lost in the way I typed it. Of course, you had the right of way when you were going straight through on a green. In this case, the guy on the right was wrong. Smile

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@Intrepid,

Last time I drove in Ontario, I was going from Detroit (i.e. Windsor) to Niagara Falls, NY, and decided to take the northern route. Nice all-day drive. Hate to think of how many years ago that was. Living in Boston, most of my driving in Canada was done in Quebec Province and I got to know the city of Montreal and environs quite well.

Btw, I wonder if we've answered janma's question?

2 Replies

@Merry Andrew,

You have to be nuts to drive in Montreal. Far, far worse than Toronto or any other Canadian city.

I do think that Janma's question has been answered. How successfully I don't know, but I do think it has been answered.

1 Reply

@Merry Andrew,

In parts of Quebec you still can't turn right on a red light and pedestrians never have the right of way. You take your life in hand when crossing a road. They have some weird driving laws some crazy drivers.

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@Intrepid,

After being used to Boston drivers, driving in Montreal is a joy. I've never had the least problem. Don't think I've ever had the experience of driving in Toronto, but I've certainly been a passenger in taxi cabs and other people's cars and it doesn't seem to be much saner or safer than, say, Boston or NYC.

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Who has the right of way?

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