Police cruiser collision caught on camera sparks debate over left turns at intersections

A recent collision involving a police cruiser in Richmond highlights the risks involved when turning left at an intersection.

Dashcam video recently posted to the social media site Reddit shows an RCMP vehicle turning left at Jacobs and Westminster Highway just as a semi-truck barrels through the intersection. Both vehicles appeared to enter the intersection on a yellow light.

The RCMP officer who was driving the cruiser suffered injuries and was transported to hospital. He was released from hospital over the weekend.

The RCMP declined to comment other than to say they are investigating the crash.

The rules around left turns at a four-way intersection are pretty straightforward, but often misunderstood.

The video has sparked a debate on the rules of the road.

Mark Milner, road safety program manager at ICBC, said vehicles turning turning left “do not have the right of way. Vehicles travelling straight through the intersection take precedence over you.”

So how many left-turning vehicles should be in an intersection?

Milner says “there should really only be one vehicle in the intersection waiting to turn left. The other vehicles should be waiting behind the stop line.”

However, Wallace Driving School’s Steve Wallace says,”as many cars as can comfortably be in the centre of the intersection are permitted to occupy it. You are not permitted to block the crosswalk.”

Safely turning left requires all of a driver’s care and attention, especially when the light turns amber or even red.

The expectation is oncoming traffic will stop, but drivers don’t always do what they are expected to do.

Wallace said the best thing drivers can do is wait until it is safe to turn left, even if everyone is laying on the horn.

“Once you own that middle of the intersection, it is yours until you leave it. As such, if you have to delay because of a red-light runner, then so be it. The fact is you still own the intersection.”