Comments on: Life Without Left Turns

By: VaBeacher

VaBeacher — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:14:20 +0000

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three rights make a left (at least in NYC).

By: Lillian Dyer Raymond

Lillian Dyer Raymond — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:19:40 +0000

I was stopped at a red light when i realized i needed to make a left turn onto a left turn lane only i crossed between the white n yellow opening an seen a semi truck with left turn light on coming from the left turn lane only lane towards me , as i was going into the left turn lane only he was braking hot,,,, he hit me in the drivers door an drug me. he had been in the left turn lane only for blocks . I felt i had a clear sight of him an thought he was going to turn left before the intersection which was about 3 or 4 car lengths he was going about 45 miles an hour using the left turn lane as his own lane. i got a found at fault for failure to yield , i dont understand he was going that fast down the left turn lane only from one light to the next an i turned where it was clearly marked left turn lane only exit , i live in michigan an we were on a 4 lane highway with a left turn lane only lane an he was driving down it for his only personal lane , wonder someone else had to go into the left turn lane only lane an couldnt be cause he had it taken over i find there should be a law somewhere where it states he has to turn like i did where it was clearly marked not hauling down the center lane am i right or not>>> the crash report states i pulled into the left turn lane only in front of him yet i have picture of his braking which was from the trailer crossing over into the oncoming traffic 3 or 4 cars to the light,, he shouldnt have first off i think not been using that lane as his. secondly going that fast down the left turn lane only lane while traffic was stopped an he had been traveling that far from the left turn lane only from one light to the next,, please help i would appreciate it ty…

By: Increased Safety and Efficiency with the Michigan Left | Greener Venues Blog

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:32:17 +0000

[...] via: Smithsonian [...]

By: brett’s morning blend (01feb11) | aliens and strangers

brett’s morning blend (01feb11) | aliens and strangers — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 13:08:10 +0000

[...] Life Without Left Turns [...]

By: Trevor L

Trevor L — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:13:30 +0000

Living in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where many of the major streets had bus-exclusive lane down the middle of the streets, and no-left-turns were implemented to keep cars from unnecessarily having cars cross the lanes of the buses. They also use fly-overs when necessary. It works phenomenally during peak hours, but after 11P when the buses stop it can be pretty annoying. It does seem to tame the traditional Brazilian aggressive driving habits, at least somewhat.

By: Maria

Maria — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:29:26 +0000

If you turn into oncoming traffic without being able to see if anyone is coming and there is an accident, it is your fault. My parents were driving in the left lane of a two-lane road, at legal speeds, and they were hit by a woman who had been “let in” by a car stopped in the right lane. She couldn’t see if there were any cars in the left lane, but she decided to trust the person who let her through, and hit my parents’ car. The “helpful” driver didn’t stop after the accident that he helped cause. If you can’t see DON’T TURN THERE. And don’t assume that someone who is letting you into traffic is looking to see if there are other cars coming.

By: The Wisconsin Skier

The Wisconsin Skier — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:17:07 +0000

Ahhhh, Familiar debate. Here in NE Wisconsin and Wisconsin in general we are seeing more and more roundabouts being put in.

I say about time. The first time I encountered a roundabout was in the UAE and it seemed perfectly clear to me, hit the inside lane for lefts, middle lane for straight ahead, and outside lane for rights, yield to those in the roundabout and signal & clear out the blindspot before exiting. Don’t stop unless to avoid an accident or due to stoplight (some of the rondabouts did have stoplights at entrances and in the roundabouts themselves, some of the roundabouts were huge with maybe 10 roads feeding in & out of them).

Once in a whle I found it annoying I was unable to make a left turn but it was no big deal. The roundabouts here in my area are designed so large vehicles can get their wheels up on the center, but yes, I’ve heard of people trying to counter the flow to try to make a left turn and other such things.

I really hate to arbitrarily stop.

That said, roundabouts are not for every intersection, consideration must be given to traffic patterns and the like.

As far as the creeping-sneaking peak to make the left it is hard to be able to predict if you have to. No oncoming traffic is attempting a left and you enter the turn lane and by the the time you reach the front there is a semi or a big vehicle of some sort.

Where I live, I know the good, the bad, and the ugly left turn intersections and drive so as to completely avoid the ugly, use the bad only if it will buy me a lot (in terms of time or access to a place I want to go to), and comfortably use the good.

By: v

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:28:11 +0000

this is so so so old. Have you ever seen Brasilia ? No traffic lights. Just right turns, Everywhere. And this was designed in the 50s.

By: AaronM

AaronM — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 02:05:31 +0000

I think it’s awesome that the name of the professor trying to think of ways to prevent unnecessary fuel usage is named “Hummer.”

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:03:20 +0000

I honestly don’t get the concern here. Left turns, like any other driving maneuver, have a simple rule – if you can’t see well enough to proceed safely, don’t.

The posting above about the woman turning left who said pulling out into traffic was necessary to see really highlighted this. It is *never* appropriate to pull into oncoming traffic to “see if it is safe”. If you have to do something risky just to get good sight lines, don’t turn left at that location.

By: Christopher Sambuco

Christopher Sambuco — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:14:46 +0000

I have had 40 years experience driving approximately 25,000 miles per year on roads equipped with left hand turn lanes,round-abouts,and jug-handle turns. I personnaly have nevr experience any difficulty or accident driving any roads designed with these features. I have never witnessed an accident that could be blamed on the use of these features. I believe that road safety and acccident prevention is the responsibilty of vehicle drivers. However, I have noticed that the State of New Jersey which has utilized extensively the round-about and the jug-handle turn on local roads is now in the process of eliminating round-abouts and jug-handle turns with a better roadway design that elevates cross over and turning lanes. This feature is usually reserved for major highways instead of local roads. Based on the description of the super-street I’m inclined to belive that the intersection safety study may be flawed and should be reviewed before investing billions of dollars in road infrastructure changes that may not necessarily improve either safety or traffic flow.

By: U-ey and Louie | NOLA DEFENDER

U-ey and Louie | NOLA DEFENDER — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:13:45 +0000

[...] random. Designing streets sans Louies actually helps save on fuel, Smithsonian Magazine's Surprising Science blog reports. The article points out that the trend has never caught on nationally, "since it seems to be a [...]

By: Life Without Left (Right!) Turns | Wulf's Web-den

Life Without Left (Right!) Turns | Wulf's Web-den — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:06:34 +0000

[...] Zielinski, writing on the Smithsonian blog, argued that life without left turns would be much safer. Converting that to the UK road system would mean dropping right turns instead. [...]

By: The morning coffee turns left | Mr. Topp and the Big Bad Blog

The morning coffee turns left | Mr. Topp and the Big Bad Blog — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:20:58 +0000

[...] to find out that we would all get to our destinations more quickly (and be safer in the process) if left turns were eliminated. Or, presumably, right turns here in [...]

By: mirradric

mirradric — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:08:54 +0000

That would be life without right turns for the rest of the world on the other side.