Yield signs for traffic on the roads mean something

Photo: B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Transit

Question: Some drivers don't seem to realize that yield signs require them to do something. They zoom right by and force their way into traffic, as if the sign wasn't even there. Don't they realize they can't do that?

Answer: The Motor Vehicle Act is definite about what a driver must do at yield signs. It says if two vehicles approach or enter an intersection from different highways at about the same time, and there is a yield sign, the driver of a vehicle facing the sign must yield the right of way to all other traffic.

According to the act, “traffic" includes pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, cycles and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using a highway to travel and “vehicle" means a device in, on or by which a person or thing is or may be transported or drawn on a highway but does not include a device designed to be moved by human power, a device used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks, mobile equipment, a motor-assisted cycle or a regulated motorized personal mobility device.

The key is "all other traffic." That isn't just the traffic in the lane you are going to try to enter. As the act says, traffic includes pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, cycles using a highway.

So, when you approach a yield sign, you must be prepared to stop if necessary. Don't focus only on vehicles in the lane you intend to enter because yield signs often occur at crosswalks. You must watch on your right for pedestrians as well.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.