Siouxie

"Passing to right of vehicle

150. (1) The driver of a motor vehicle may overtake and pass to the right of another vehicle only where the movement can be made in safety and,

(a) the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn or its driver has signalled his or her intention to make a left turn;

(b) is made on a highway with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two or more lines of vehicles in each direction; or

(c) is made on a highway designated for the use of one-way traffic only."

R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 150 (1).

dbd33

They have the concept of lane discipline. You do get violations but it's not a free for all, driving in the wrong lane is exactly that. Here there's no correct lane; if a single lane (each way) road widens to two lanes, half the cars take one and half the other. And, yes, as noted above, it doesn't matter how foggy it is the back lights of the cars will not be lit, there's no longer a custom of being able to work a light switch. otoh, Canada has neither Trump nor Brexit.

dave_j

Anyone been to China?
Only one rule there, you have to be in front of the car in front.
But surprisingly, I witnessed few accidents since everyone expects everyone to drive badly, pass on both sides, tailgate etc., so perhaps they're simply skilled at driving under different conditions and not bad at all. Likewise in Canada, are we in danger of judging how others drive against a different culture that sees road conditions through a different lens than we do?
Only frightened in China once though when two cars, one from each side, decided to pull into the minute space in front of the car I was in. Fortunately the driver saw this one coming and braked but nearly had a trouser accident on that one. Driver wasn't bothered at all.

caretaker

I asked someone who'd spent a couple of years teaching in China about that, and he said that given the road conditions and the traffic, they were probably among the best of drivers.

Paul_Shepherd

Good point....

Considering the volume of traffic on the 401 then Id imagine the accident to volume ratio is pretty good....as born and bred Canadians grew up with undertaking tailgating and sitting in what we see as the over taking lane when other people want to pass. To us it just looks like a dangerous free for all, but as i said for the volume of traffic the accident rate seems low.

Were just used to regimented agressive but disciplined driving.... people just wont undertake in the UK, its a crime no one dare commit, and woe betide anyone that does! they get the wrath of everyone around them! How many times have you been in the outside lane doing well over the speed limit around 80mph, and a BMW comes rocketing up behind flashing his light franticallly for you to move over....thats just ``how it is`` there....

Shard

I can deal with the overtake in any lane rule (though obviously the British lane rules make more sense) what I find crazy is people cutting across three lanes at high speed because they didn't anticipate the exit.

Are US lane rules the same as UK or Canada? Does it differ by state?

Shard

I've driven in countries with that ethos, and you're right, surprisingly it works. Whatever system you have the crucial point is that everyone needs to be on the same page. In Canada it's hard to second guess what any other driver will do. Some are over cautious or courteous, others the opposite.

Shard

dbd33

In the US, it's like the UK. That is to say that people generally follow the conventions but, in areas of intense congestion, road rage takes over.

There are a few odd behaviours here beside "any speed in any lane" and never turning the lights on. One I find odd is turning left from the right lane or right from the left lane. Another is wide cornering, Dodge Rams, in particular, always use a radius for the turn that puts the vehicle into the oncoming traffic after the corner; I guess the driver can't twirl the steering knob quickly enough to stop the truck from wallowing and straying.

Lane changes based on the assumption that the other vehicles will move out of the way disconcert me as does "horses and four" cornering. I'm told they do this in rural Ireland too but haven't seen it there. What happens here is that, when someone wants to turn left (so across a lane) they pull into the oncoming lane about a quarter mile before the corner then turn into the oncoming lane of the second road before moving into their own lane there. I see that this means that the car behind on the first road is saved from slowing down and see the merit in that but it doesn't consider that, around the corner, there may be oncoming traffic in the oncoming lane. If I'm following a vehicle that does this I sometimes take the outside of the corner, using the correct lanes, so as to wind up alongside the other vehicle, me in the correct, right, lane and the other vehicle in the left. I think this type of cornering is what led to the outrageous corner cutting we routinely see here.

At junctions, four way stops, conventions are not followed. At some the left turning vehicle waits until all oncoming vehicles have cleared the junction. At others the second oncoming vehicle waits for the turning one. I see that this is motivated by politeness but think it as misguided as the cretins who finally acknowledge my flashing lights by moving over a lane and then, when I've passed, immediately move back again.

Gah, it's a wasteland for cars and drivers!

dbd33

Ahem, car insurance isn't a very profitable business in Canada despite astronomical rates (rates that are mentioned on here from time to time). Part of that is Canadians being very litigious but the core reason is that they crash a lot.

Paul_Shepherd

Oh dear... LOL! Ronnie Pickering needs to chill out! hes lost the plot! I have to say I certainly dont miss that driving in the UK... think Ill take lack of lane discipline on the 401 over that kind of perfomance!!

Paul_Shepherd

Yes insurance is expensive over here, no doubt due the the fact there are lots of claims, but I was referring more to the 401 as Id say it carries a lot more traffic than any motorway in the UK....that section past Pearson is 12 lanes and still congested!

dbd33

16 lanes at the widest, I think. Several people on this team commute along it, I think they'd vociferously protest against the idea that it has minimal accidents. According to my disgruntled colleague here there's typically a delay due to a crash three journeys a week (out of eight trips). Note that that's commuting against the traffic. A major argument for people working at home is that otherwise they'd have to take the 401 and so have a powerful incentive to find another job.

I have to say that I don't care for coming down the 410 on to the 401 and then taking the 427 south, I'm always relieved to have made the necessary 25 or 30 lane changes without a collision. I commuted that way for a couple of years and saw frequent fist fights between frustrated drivers. It doesn't help, of course, that the road has been dug up since I've been in Canada.

The QEW is hardly better. I shake my head at the idea that immigrants would consider living in Oakville. That's 3 or 4 hours a day of misery before considering that, when you're not stuck on the motorway, you're in Oakville.

scrubbedexpat091

I only drove the 401 once through Toronto and that was enough for me.

Isn't it the busiest freeway in North America?

Siouxie

Yes have been to China - and lived in Hong Kong for years, I spent 3 weeks touring Sri Lanka with a car and driver - the biggest danger there was bandits (just before the Tamil war broke out) but some of the passing on narrow roads was a bit hairy, lol. I've spent time in Malaysia and Thailand including Bangkok (where the driving was seriously scary at times - there's a gap, go for it!)- the worst drivers generally were the expats because they were scared / worried about the locals driving - but the locals were used to it, lol.

I think we tend to judge the driving on our personal experiences of where we learned to drive or spent the most time being driven in... the local drivers are just not up to our standards, don't cha know!