Sharing the Road

• Keep your distance. The Highway Safety Code requires that you slow down and keep a distance between your vehicle and the cyclist of: 
  • 1 metre in zones of 50 km/h or less
  • 1.5 metres in zones of more than 50 km/h
• If you cannot respect these conditions, you are prohibited from passing in the same lane.
• The Highway Safety Code authorizes you to cross a solid line to pass a cyclist, if you can do so safely.
• Anticipate a cyclist's movements. Cyclists sometimes have to make last-minute manoeuvres to avoid obstacles.
• Before opening your door, check your side rearview mirrors to make sure no cyclists are riding behind the vehicle. Get into the habit of opening the door with the opposite hand. That way, you can see whether a cyclist is in your blind spot before opening the door.
• Be careful at intersections: cyclists are sometimes hidden by other vehicles.
• Yield to cyclists who have the right of way.
• Don't honk when you are near cyclists. You may startle them, which may cause them to make a false move.

Passing a cyclist without slowing down or when there isn’t a reasonable distance of 1 m or 1.5 m or not yielding to a cyclist who has the right of way

are offences under the highway safety code that can lead to:

• a fine of $200 to $300
• 2 demerit points

• When approaching a pedestrian, you must slow down and keep the following distance between your vehicle and the pedestrian:
  • 1 m in zones of 50 km/h or less
  • 1.5 m in zones of more than 50 km/h
• At pedestrian crosswalks, you must stop your vehicle as soon as a pedestrian enters the crosswalk or clearly indicates the intention to do so. This is the case, for example, when:
  • the pedestrian is waiting on the sidewalk next to the pedestrian crosswalk
  • the pedestrian makes a hand gesture indicating the desire to cross
  • you have made eye contact with the pedestrian
• It is preferable to make a hand gesture to let pedestrians who wish to cross know you have seen them.
• Yield the right of way to pedestrians at intersections and be especially careful before turning right on a red light.
• Keep your headlights on, especially in low-visibility weather conditions, to make sure you can see and be seen.

Not giving pedestrians the right of way

This is an offence under the Highway Safety Code that can lead to:

• a fine of $200 to $300
• 2 demerit points

• Leave more space than usual when you stop behind a heavy vehicle. When the heavy vehicle driver takes his or her foot off the brake in order to engage the clutch, the vehicle may move backward if it is carrying a heavy load.
• Leave a heavy vehicle with enough space to turn and don’t cut off the driver before he or she has finished making the turn. When turning right, the driver may have to first veer to the left, which may be confusing.
• Avoid positioning yourself in a heavy vehicle’s blind spots, especially at intersections. If you can’t see the driver’s rear-view mirrors, the driver can’t see you either.
• If you are in front of a heavy vehicle, make sure you leave enough space between you and the heavy vehicle and signal your intentions ahead of time. Heavy vehicles need a lot of space to brake.
• When you pass a heavy vehicle, beware of the air turbulence it can cause. Plan for more time and space than it would take to pass an automobile.

The greatest risks to a child’s safety are found outside the school bus and come from either the bus itself or the surrounding traffic.

When a school bus turns on its flashing lights or deploys its stop sign, you must stop at least 5 metres from the bus, whether you are travelling in the same direction or approaching from the opposite direction.

Offenders face:

• a fine of $200 to $300
• 9 demerit points

Exception

You are not required to stop when you are approaching a school bus that is in a lane separated from yours by a median.

You must yield the right of way to any emergency vehicle whose sound-producing device or lights are in operation. It is important to stay calm, locate the emergency vehicle, slow down, pull over as far to the right as possible and, if necessary, stop.

Offenders face:

• a fine of $200 to $300
• 4 demerit points

The Move-Over Law

When an emergency vehicle, a tow truck or a surveillance vehicle is stopped and its arrow light or its rotating or flashing lights are activated, you must:

• slow down and move over as far as possible from the stopped vehicle, but only once you have made sure you can do so safely
• if necessary, stop your vehicle so as to not jeopardize the lives or safety of others

Offenders face:

• a fine of $200 to $300
• 4 demerit points