Whether you have been driving for ten years or fifty, it is a good idea to brush up the road rules for safety. There are many highway traffic laws in Ontario that you think you know, but you may have forgotten. To learn these laws, you must visit the website.

1. Ontario
Traffic Laws:
5 Things in
the Highway
Traffic Act
You Forgot

2. Ontario Highway Traffic Laws
You “Think” You Know…but
may have forgotten!
The average age of a person in Ontario
is 40.4 years old. Let’s just round that
down and say the average is 40.

3. That means, if you are in or around this
number and you learned to drive when
you were 16 years old (as many of us did),
you’ve been driving for 24 years.
If you think about what else you learned
when you were 16—like quadratic
equations—you’ll probably notice that
there is a lot you’ve forgotten since then.

4. Sure, we don’t all use quadratic equations
every day, while many of us DO drive, but
that doesn’t mean that we’re immune to
forgetting the rules of the road.
Here are just a few areas where I witness
a lot of confusion or outright forgetfulness,
when it comes to traffic rules:

5. Don’t Pass The Flashing
School Bus
I see this one all the time.
Someone is late for work or an
appointment and they are impatient
sitting behind a school bus that has its
lights flashing and stop sign extended.
In a fit of pique, they pull around and
pass the bus. DON’T DO THIS. Ever.

6. I’ll be blunt: You could run a kid over.
You must remember that we can’t see
small children coming around the front
of the bus to cross the road. The legal
repucussions of getting caught (fines
for failing to stop are upwards of
$2,000 with a loss of up to 6 demerit
points) are nothing compared to the
guilt and trauma of taking a young life
simply because you were five minutes
late for work.

7. Whether approaching a stopped bus, or
coming up from behind, you MUST stop
at least 20 metres before or behind.
The only exception to this is when you
are oncoming and there is a physical
median on the road between you and
the lane the bus is in. A physical median
is a raised, paved strip that prevents
vehicles from crossing over to the
oncoming lane.

8. The Etiquette Of U-Turns
Unless it is specifically prohibited, you
can technically make a U-turn in many
places. Except one: at a red light. This is
without a doubt the craziest move I see
drivers making, but make it they do!

9. To make a U-turn safely, you need to
be able to see traffic clearly at least 150
metres forward and behind you. Curves,
hills or anything that blocks your view
within about 150 metres are signs that
you should move on before you make
the turn.

10. Pull over to the right, using your turn
signal, and then stop to wait. When traffic
is clear in both directions, you can put on
your left turn signal and proceed to make
the U-turn.
And a word to the wise, never assume you
can legally make a U-turn. Look out for
signage, just in case. Ignorance of the law
is never a defense.

11. Doing Circles In A
Roundabout
Roundabouts are the latest traffic trend,
particularly in rural areas, but a lot of
people don’t know how to use them
properly, so here’s a crash course:

12. 1.The cars in the roundabout already have
right of way, so if you’re entering the
roundabout, you have to yield to traffic
already engaged.
2.The left lane of a roundabout is for traffic
going straight or left (around) towards an
exit.

13. The right lane of a roundabout is for traffic
going straight or right (towards the first
exit). It’s important to read the signage as
you approach the roundabout so you can
figure out where your exit will be and
therefore which lane will be appropriate as
you shouldn’t change lanes once you’re in
the roundabout.

14. 3.Roundabouts ALWAYS go counter-
clockwise, so the island in the middle is
always on your left.
4.The lane of a roundabout is not a good
place to stop because you missed your
exit! Keep moving and do the loop again.
Remember, you have the right of way over
vehicles entering the roundabout.

15. I understand that many Ontarians are not
yet used to roundabouts, but remember: it
could always be worse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Kafx_GGHqVg

16. Bike Hand Signals
Passing cyclists is an easy one: leave a
metre of space between your car and the
bike, where you can. But do you
remember the hand signals that a cyclist
might use and what each of them means?

17. Left arm straight out to the side — this
means the rider is planning to make a left
hand turn. They are allowed to use the left
turn lane, if one is available.
Left arm out and up, palm facing
forward — this means the rider is going to
be making a right turn.

18. Right arm straight out to the side — this is
an alternative signal, to advise they are
turning right.
Left arm out and down, palm facing
back — this means the cyclist is stopping.
For a visual representation, check out
the MTO cycling guide, pages 14 – 16.

19. Of course, the best solution for bikes and
cars sharing the roadways is to have and
use designated bike lanes. Hamilton has
been working hard on making these a
reality, in the aim of reducing cyclist-
motorist accidents significantly!

20. Wheel Positioning Matters
This is an oldie but a goodie: when you’re
setting up to turn left at an intersection,
keep your wheels straight until you make
your turn. That way, if you’re suddenly
rear ended, your car won’t be pushed
directly into the path of oncoming traffic.

21. • Makes sense right? Moreover, it’s in the
Ontario Driver’s Handbook. But do any of
us do think about it? Probably not.
• Brushing up on the rules of the road is a
good idea for everyone, whether you’ve
been driving for ten years or fifty.

22. Things change, they move fast and you
don’t want to be second guessing your
driving decisions while going 100 km/hr
down the QEW…

23. http://derekwilsonlaw.ca/ontari