They mean something, all those strange coloured markings on the road... knowing what they mean will make you a better, safer driver
A young pedestrian was recently killed in a crosswalk, crossing on WALK when a car completely failed to even slow down at the red light, turned right into the crosswalk and had no way of stopping in time once she became visible.
A court case is currently underway where a woman is suing another driver, who she rear-ended, because 'nobody stops at this 4-way stop.'
Perhaps the road markings and signs are some kind of complex code to transmit messages?
In cities across North America there are complicated road usage guides, designed to smooth traffic and avert accidents and for the most part, these work. There are left-turn lanes, walk signals, advanced turn lights, double yellow lines and solid white lines. Every licensed driver is supposed to know what these all mean. There are tests. Every driver sees others who either don' t remember or never knew what these mean. Every day that puts other people's lives and property at risk. Every day that puts the ignorant drivers at risk of being, at the very least, 'at fault' of a minor accident.
AAA and CAA, in North America, are excellent resources for 'what the lines mean' in each state or province, and the information is widely available online. It is, for example, legal to drive barefoot in British Columbia, but not in Manitoba. No one knows why, but it probably made sense to the legislators at the time.
In every jurisdiction in North America, every car is forbidden from entering an intersection if that car cannot exit the intersection before the light turns red. Granted, this is a judgement call on the part of every driver... but every single day cars, sometimes many of them, are 'stuck' in intersections they should not have entered in the first place. "Entering" the intersection, by the way, means passing the stop line, entering the designated crosswalk area, or passing the end of the sidewalk/curb or block. Surprising to most drivers, this includes T-intersections, where cars can only enter the road, not cross it. This rule means that long lines of rush hour traffic are not to barricade cars in at side streets while they try to merge into traffic. Drivers are supposed to know this, and are not supposed to barricade intersections with their cars even when there are no cars waiting to enter.
Double yellow lines are not to be crossed. Not to pass bicycles. Not to move around stationary (or illegally parked) vehicles. Not to make u-turns. And absolutely not to turn left, no not even 'if you always do it' nor even 'if you live here.' Certainly not because the only alternative is going around the block once. Double-yellow means 'stay on your side of the road' and doesn' t come with room for each individual drivers' privisos for 'why they don't mean me.'
Solid white lines mean 'stay in your lane.' Yes, even if if means slowing down for a bike. Yes, even if you'd rather be in the other lane. Yes, even if it means going all the way around the block and trying again. Solid white lines do not mean 'unless I don't feel like it.' The most common usage across North America is between the road and the shoulder. That means 'no passing on the right.' Not 'unless you're in a hurry.' No passing doesn't mean 'except you, buddy.'
In many jurisdictions, it is legal to turn on a red light. Usually this means turning right from a 2-way road onto a two-way road, but it is legal, too, to turn left on a red light from a 1- or 2-way road onto a 1-way road. Of course, it is important to remember that the other rule still applies:
- At every stop sign and red light the first completely non-optional action that every single driver (yes, even of bicycles) must follow is:
COME TO A COMPLETE STOP
