Proper Left Turn Procedure at Controlled Intersections

[George Costanza]

In the spirit of Rightwinger's thread about yellow lights, let's hash this one around a bit:

You are stopped for a red light at an intersection. You are going to make a left turn. There is no left turn bay. You are the lead car in the No. 1 (fast) lane. There are four or five cars stopped behind you. On the other side of the intersection are a very large number of cars. None of them appear to be signaling to make a left turn, i.e., they all will be going straight ahead when the light turns green. In fact, there are SO many cars opposing you, that it is obvious the only way you are going to be able to make your left turn is to wait until the light turns yellow and the oncoming traffic has to stop.

The light turns green. What do you do?

(a) Drive straight ahead to a point where the front of your car is near to the middle of the intersection, where you wait for the oncoming cars to clear, so you can make your left turn.
(b) Sit right where you are, with the front of your car behind the limit line, where you wait for oncoming cars to clear so you can make your left turn.

 

[manu1959]

c...jump the light and cut the line off so you don't have to wait......

 

[George Costanza]

c...jump the light and cut the line off so you don't have to wait......

As a matter of fact, there is a growing number of drivers who believe that the guy making the left turn gets to go first. Ever run into one of these morons? You each arrive at opposite sides of the intersection at the same time. You are making a left turn, he is not. You pause, waiting for him to go, so you can then make your turn. He just sits there, waiting for YOU to go first. In the meantime, of course, cars going in the other direction are also just sitting there, waiting for something to happen.

It's called Stuttering at Intersections, and it is a growing problem. No one seems to know what the rules of the road are any more.

 

[PixieStix]

In the spirit of Rightwinger's thread about yellow lights, let's hash this one around a bit:

You are stopped for a red light at an intersection. You are going to make a left turn. There is no left turn bay. You are the lead car in the No. 1 (fast) lane. There are four or five cars stopped behind you. On the other side of the intersection are a very large number of cars. None of them appear to be signaling to make a left turn, i.e., they all will be going straight ahead when the light turns green. In fact, there are SO many cars opposing you, that it is obvious the only way you are going to be able to make your left turn is to wait until the light turns yellow and the oncoming traffic has to stop.

The light turns green. What do you do?

(a) Drive straight ahead to a point where the front of your car is near to the middle of the intersection, where you wait for the oncoming cars to clear, so you can make your left turn.
(b) Sit right where you are, with the front of your car behind the limit line, where you wait for oncoming cars to clear so you can make your left turn.

I try to do (a), but many times I don't cuz I don't wanna die

 

[my2¢]

I'd be roughly halfway between (A) the middle of the intersection and (B) at the limit line. My front tires would be aimed straight ahead so just in case my car got rear-ended I wouldn't be pushed into oncoming traffic.

Oh, a p.s.
When making a left turn onto a street with multiple lanes, the cops here (Chandler / Gilbert AZ) have been on a kick about turning into the left (fast) lane and not "driftng" into the right hand lane when executing the turn. I guess there have been a lot of accidents involving those making left turns while an approaching vehicle reaching the intersection from opposite direction is turning right.

 

[George Costanza]

Well, the point of this thread has to do not with the guy making the left turn but, rather, the guy (or guys) directly behind him. With the glut of traffic these days, left turners usually have to wait until the yellow before they can actually make their left turn. If they are behind the limit line at that point, guess how many cars get to go through the intersection? One. The guy making the left turn. The folks behind him are screwed until the next light cycle.

On the other hand, if the guy making the left turn has the consideration (a rare commodity these days) to pull up into the intersection to wait, it will allow at least one, and possibly two, other cars to get through behind him after the light turns yellow.

I don't know about the legality of pulling into the middle of the intersection to wait. I always thought it was both legal and required. I still think that, but I have heard others argue that it is not legal. I'll check that aspect of it out when I have some time, which isn't now.

 

[rightwinger]

I move out into the intersection, wait for the light to turn red...then make my left turn

 

[George Costanza]

I move out into the intersection, wait for the light to turn red...then make my left turn

Right. And why do you do that? So that at least one car behind you will also be able to get through when the never-ending line of cars from the opposite direction is finally halted by the yellow light.

Have any of you ever been stuck behind some jerk who does NOT pull up into the intersection, who just sits there, behind the limit line and then, at the last second, completes his left turn just as the yellow turns to red? I have often combined my horn with a well known hand signal directed at morons such as that when I am the guy behind them.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Most of the intersections around here that are busy have a left turn green arrow giving that line of cars you're in the right of way for at least a short time.

 

[LuckyDan]

Screw it. I cancel my left turn signal, proceed down the road to the nearest turnaround and make a U.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

c...jump the light and cut the line off so you don't have to wait......

As a matter of fact, there is a growing number of drivers who believe that the guy making the left turn gets to go first. Ever run into one of these morons? You each arrive at opposite sides of the intersection at the same time. You are making a left turn, he is not. You pause, waiting for him to go, so you can then make your turn. He just sits there, waiting for YOU to go first. In the meantime, of course, cars going in the other direction are also just sitting there, waiting for something to happen.

It's called Stuttering at Intersections, and it is a growing problem. No one seems to know what the rules of the road are any more.

No one ever did. People are just ruder with each succeeding generation. God Bless America.

 

[SpidermanTuba]

In the spirit of Rightwinger's thread about yellow lights, let's hash this one around a bit:

You are stopped for a red light at an intersection. You are going to make a left turn. There is no left turn bay. You are the lead car in the No. 1 (fast) lane. There are four or five cars stopped behind you. On the other side of the intersection are a very large number of cars. None of them appear to be signaling to make a left turn, i.e., they all will be going straight ahead when the light turns green. In fact, there are SO many cars opposing you, that it is obvious the only way you are going to be able to make your left turn is to wait until the light turns yellow and the oncoming traffic has to stop.

The light turns green. What do you do?

(a) Drive straight ahead to a point where the front of your car is near to the middle of the intersection, where you wait for the oncoming cars to clear, so you can make your left turn.
(b) Sit right where you are, with the front of your car behind the limit line, where you wait for oncoming cars to clear so you can make your left turn.

I'd make three right turns and call it a day.