The Green Light That Isn't Yours
You are stopped at an intersection in a 60 km/h zone, first in line in the left-turn lane. Your lane has a dedicated left-turn arrow that is currently red. The through lanes beside you have a green circle. A pedestrian is standing on the footpath at the corner you intend to turn into, facing away from the road and looking at a phone. A tram is approaching from behind in the centre lanes. After about 20 seconds, your left arrow turns green. At the same moment, the pedestrian steps off the kerb into the road you are turning into, still looking at the phone, about 8 m from the crossing point. There is a painted bike lane along the road you are turning into.
1. What does the green left arrow authorise, and does it remove your obligation to give way to the pedestrian?
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A green left-turn arrow authorises you to turn left only from the lane(s) the arrow applies to, and it means conflicting traffic - including oncoming through traffic - should be stopped. It does not override your duty to avoid colliding with a pedestrian already in or entering the road.
So:
- The arrow gives you a right of way against vehicles, not a licence to proceed regardless of people.
- The pedestrian has stepped off the kerb and is in the roadway. Even if they are jaywalking or distracted, you must not proceed into a collision; you should hold position and let them clear, or proceed only when you can do so without endangering them.
- Because the pedestrian is distracted and not looking, you cannot rely on eye contact or on them stopping. Assume they will keep walking.
Key point: a green arrow is permission to move, not an instruction to move. The give-way duty to pedestrians survives the green arrow.
2. The pedestrian is 8 m away and walking. How do you decide between waiting and proceeding, and what do you check before moving?
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Judge by time and space, not by who is 'right'. At walking pace (roughly 1.2–1.4 m/s), 8 m takes about 6–7 seconds to cross your path - but the pedestrian's direction and speed are uncertain because they are distracted, so treat the estimate as unreliable.
Decision rule:
- If the pedestrian's path will intersect yours within the time it takes you to complete the turn, wait. Completing a left turn from a standstill takes several seconds, and you will be moving slowly and vulnerably.
- Proceed only if you can clear their path with a comfortable margin and without making them stop or step back.
Before moving, check in order:
- The pedestrian's position and trajectory again - confirm they are still walking away from your path.
- The bike lane - a cyclist may be approaching from your left, and you will cross it.
- Your mirrors and blind spot - especially the tram behind and any vehicle that has moved up beside you.
- The intersection itself - a vehicle running the red or a late-turning vehicle from the cross street.
If any check is uncertain, the correct choice is to wait.
3. A cyclist appears in the bike lane as you begin to turn. What is the correct response, and what does the bike lane change about your turn?
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The correct response is to stop and yield - do not complete the turn across the cyclist. A cyclist in a bike lane travelling straight has priority over a turning vehicle; turning across them is a classic collision pattern because the driver looks for cars and misses the narrower, faster-moving cyclist.
What the bike lane changes:
- Your turn now crosses two paths: the pedestrian crossing and the bike lane. You must check the bike lane separately, not assume it is clear because the pedestrian area was.
- You should set up the turn so you cross the bike lane at a sharper angle and at low speed, giving yourself a better view up the lane before you commit.
- Do not stop in the bike lane blocking it while waiting for the pedestrian; hold back before it if you can.
After the cyclist passes, re-check the pedestrian, then complete the turn. If the arrow turns amber or red while you wait, you must not restart the turn on a red arrow - wait for the next green arrow.