Ask Phoebe: A stop sign means what it says

There should be nothing confusing about this sign. Photo / Dean Purcell

There is a stop sign just after where Great North Rd winds down Chinamans Hill so it is at the start of Surrey Cres. You go through lights to turn down the hill or carry on and then there is a stop sign for people wanting to turn right into Selbourne St - and a pedestrian crossing.

Okay, so what is the Road Code ruling? If someone is on a stop sign and wanting to turn right, do they give way to the person turning left into the same street? I know normally the person turning left gives way but which rule has precedence in this situation, the stop sign or the give way to the right rule?

I have thought the stop sign overrides everything else. I am usually turning left but I often let the person on the stop sign go through because they usually believe they have the right of way and haven't stopped at the sign anyway. It is a very confusing situation and often both sides are hesitating and then just missing hitting each other.

Just recently I had an incident there which prompted a man to leave a note on my windscreen suggesting that I need to resit my driving licence. He was turning right and I was turning left, and we both went at the same time, to his obvious fury. So who is in the right?
Angela McCarthy, Grey Lynn.

If you are on a stop sign, you must bring your vehicle to a complete stop and give way to all other traffic that is not on a stop sign, including cycles and motorcycles. Where both vehicles are on stop signs, the give way rules apply.

Where this particular stop sign is - and it is an anomaly, and the cause of much ire - the vehicle turning left into Selbourne has priority, as it is not at a stop sign.

Can you please clarify what cars/vans etc are allowed in a truck-only lane? I regularly use the onramp from the port and when I'm stuck in a long queue I am often surprised at cars taking the truck lane straight on to the motorway. Do they have some special permission or are they just being cheeky (not to mention annoying)?
Helen Fletcher, Auckland.

Cars and vans in a truck lane are being cheeky and annoying and they are breaking the law. Truck lanes are for trucks alone, unless there are signs allowing T2 or T3 vehicles, or motorcycles, or other specified vehicles.

What is the deal with "works end" signs? Do they mean the restricted speed limit ends there (especially if the actual speed limit sign is not present, as they sometimes aren't)? Are there rules about which should appear first - the speed limit sign or the works end sign? I have been told by a friend that speed restrictions end at the works end sign, but another friend has told me of getting a speeding ticket for increasing speed after one.
Wendy Howard, Kaiwaka.

A "works end" sign signifies only that the work has indeed ended. The customary speed limit comes into effect at the sign saying so, generally indicated by that number in a circle.