u/Weird_Cranberry_6428

Question About Right Turn on Red

Hello!

I had a situation yesterday that scared me a little, and I'm just trying to wrap my head around it a little better. I talked to some friends and family who took my side but I don't trust that they're speaking from a neutral POV.

This situation occurred at an intersection between a side street and Steeles Avenue. I pulled up to the red light and stopped, checked for pedestrians and creeped forward a little. I noticed that in the RIGHT lane from oncoming traffic, a bus pulled over and was letting passengers in/out. In my head, I saw this as an opportunity to quickly turn into the right lane.

However, a car passed the bus and then immediately moved into the right lane in the middle of the intersection. He blared his horn at me (understandable). There's a sort of shoulder, so I pulled my car as far right as possible to give way. He tailgated me for a bit and then sped away.

My thought process is; he made an unsafe lane change in the middle of an intersection (not allowed). I will absolutely consider this possibility and not use the bus as an indicator that it is safe to turn again. However, since I was at a red light, would I also be considered at fault here? Because generally, turning right on a red should only be done when safe. From a defensive driving perspective, I'm absolutely wrong I think, idk!

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u/Weird_Cranberry_6428 — 2 days ago