Left Turn on Red, Then a Streetcar With Open Doors
You are driving westbound on a three-lane one-way street in downtown Toronto at 18:00. Ahead, the traffic light at the intersection with a southbound one-way street is red, and there is no sign prohibiting turns. You want to turn left onto that one-way street. After the turn, one block south, a streetcar is stopped in your lane with its doors open, and there is no safety zone painted on the road. Traffic is heavy, and a cyclist is filtering up on your right between your car and the curb.
1. May you legally turn left on the red light here? What must be true before you complete the turn?
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Yes - this is the specific exception to the general rule. In Ontario, a left turn on a red light is permitted only when you are turning from a one-way street onto another one-way street, and no sign prohibits it. Both conditions are met here. If the street you were entering were two-way, the turn would be illegal regardless of the light.
The sequence is still a red-light sequence:
- Come to a complete stop at the stop line before the crosswalk.
- Signal your intention.
- Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to all traffic on the one-way street you are entering - those vehicles have the green and you do not.
- Turn only when the way is clear.
The judgement part: The exemption changes whether you may turn, not who yields. A driver who rolls through the stop because "left on red is allowed" has turned an exemption into a collision. It is also the manoeuvre drivers behind you least expect, so hold your position clearly and do not creep into the intersection while waiting.
2. You reach the stopped streetcar. What does the law require you to do?
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Stop and wait. With the doors open and no painted safety zone, you must stop at least 2 metres behind the rear doors of the streetcar. You stay stopped until the passengers have finished boarding and stepping off and the doors have closed.
Why the safety zone matters: If a safety zone were painted on the road, you would be permitted to proceed past the stopped streetcar with caution. Its absence is the whole point of the scenario - there is nothing separating alighting passengers from your lane, so the 2-metre stop is mandatory.
Why the wait is longer than it looks: Passengers stepping off a streetcar often walk around the front or back of it to cross, and they are focused on traffic, not on you. Passing on the left or squeezing by on the right while people are still moving is the classic streetcar collision. Wait for the doors, then check both sides before moving.
3. How does the cyclist on your right change how you handle these two manoeuvres?
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Before the turn: The cyclist is in the gap between your car and the curb - a spot your right mirror does not reliably cover. Signal early, shoulder-check, and do not begin the left turn from a position that requires you to swing wide and then cut back across the cyclist's line. Let the cyclist clear before you commit.
At the streetcar: Two risks. First, as you slow, do not drift right into the cyclist's path or open a door into it. Second, the cyclist will probably pass the stopped streetcar on the right, where passengers are stepping out - a conflict between the two of them that you should anticipate rather than join.
The principle: Your legal obligations here (stop for the red, stop 2 metres behind the doors) are fixed. The cyclist does not change the rules, it changes your margin. Check, signal, and leave the cyclist room rather than assuming they will yield to a turning car.