@PurplePawprints I thought the same thing on your behalf. Personal safety is paramount. Story time - Some jerk blew his horn at me cause I would not turn right into an intersection when I could not see a damn thing past the ginormous SUV to my left. She had pulled so far ahead, she was over the stop bar, and now she was afraid to commit to making her turn.
I politely got out and explained to him that I was anxious to turn and get to my hair appointment on time, but me getting t-boned would completely block the intersection and very likely make it impassable for him, what with the debris and two smoking vehicles. He should have thanked me for another 60 second delay (seriously, she had no business driving that behemoth) rather than having to find a detour.
TL:DR People in enormous trucks and SUVs should hang back a bit when waiting to turn left so as not to block sight lines for those turning right in the next lane.
@Lotsofgoats This is how left turns should be made out of parking lots onto busy arterials. In Texas, folks seem to assume that traffic coming out of the parking lot has the right of way.
I learned something today. Thank you. I knew that if you were already in the intersection when the light turned red, you keep the right of way until you complete your turn and are out of the intersection. But I learned that only one vehicle at a time should proceed into the intersection to be ready to turn left when oncoming traffic permits. Thanx!
@phatmass Now I see why you think you're right and to an extent you are. No matter where you are in the US its never illegal to cross the stop bar if you have a green light and can finish your turning movement prior to the light turning red. Once the light has turned red you can receive a ticket in ANY state that doesn't have a two-second all red time. So, you should only pull into the intersection when you are certain you'll have time to complete your turning movement. Otherwise, you are being dangerous and risk blocking the intersection.
No where in the US are stop lights designed to allow for anyone to pull into the intersection and sit there until the light turns red. This is when what you are describing becomes dangerous and illegal. I, nor anyone I know or have worked with, have ever nor will ever design a stoplight with the intention of someone sitting in the middle of it. This is something cities and states recognize will happen and assume you have sense enough to know when you can complete your turn. This movement can and has been interpreted as reckless driving. So the next time you're sitting in the middle of an intersection knowing full well you won't be able to make your turn until the light turns red think about what you'll do when someone catches the adjacent light just in time to sail through and T-bone your drivers side door.
@RedHot I'm sorry, but you are wrong. Furthermore, if your job somehow depends on the knowledge of driving laws, you are terrible at your job and should be fired. You seem like an awesome person though, and I am sure you are amazing at other things in life.
Question: My husband just got a ticket for running a yellow light. How is that possible? I thought as long as you didn't speed up, you could go through a yellow.
Answer: MCL 257.612 states in part, " ...vehicular traffic facing the signal shall stop before entering the nearest crosswalk at the intersection or at a limit line when marked, but if the stop cannot be made in safety, a vehicle may be driven cautiously through the intersection."
The bottom line is, unless it is dangerous to stop, you must stop when the light turns yellow. The only exception is when you are preparing to make a left turn and you are already within the intersection. You can complete your left turn after oncoming traffic has stopped, even if the light turns red.
@phatmass fortunately I am very used to dealing with the public and people who have very strong feelings and beliefs that they know the law better than I (and in many cases thinking they can do my job better than I can). They don't and they can't. Roadway Design has very little to do with laws, just because something is accepted doesn't mean its legal. If everything illegal thing was enforced we'd all be in a lot of trouble. I'm just glad I don't live near you, there are plenty of unsafe drivers in my area, we don't need anymore.
@MrMark This really has nothing to do with entering the intersection on a green light. You should always stop before entering the intersection on yellow if it is safe to do so.
@RedHot As I have explained many times over, people who wait behind the line to make a left turn are actually the more dangerous drivers. It is safer to be in a proper turning position when turning. People who are behind the line before turning left take much longer to make their turn and will cause accidents because of this--not to mention surprise other drivers by unsuspectingly making a turn when not in the proper position.
@phatmass It was in response to RedHot and his statement: "Once the light has turned red you can receive a ticket in ANY state that doesn't have a two-second all red time."
The bolded/italicised portion of my comment refuted that statement.
literally every source online is correctly stating that entering an intersection on a green light is legal, regardless of when one completes their turn. any alternative interpretation of the law is false.
additionally, drivers are not required to turn in this manner.
@Lotsofgoats You are a smart human. Notice how I have linked to many videos and sources trying to make our roads safer, and the "wait behind the line" people have not linked to one source in defense of their errant position. I truly care for the children of the roads.
Left turns across traffic are an intrinsic hazard, as are traditional cross intersections, both of which lead to high-speed t-bone collisions. Roundabouts are the best way to make a left turn, @phatmass.
@joelmw IMHO, driving directly ON the left side of the road is the safest way to turn left - such as in a diverging diamond interchange. Which driving on one will literally fuck you all up the first time - and then you'll come to love it. Much like really good weed.
Again, seriously. Let it go.
@PurplePawprints I thought the same thing on your behalf. Personal safety is paramount. Story time - Some jerk blew his horn at me cause I would not turn right into an intersection when I could not see a damn thing past the ginormous SUV to my left. She had pulled so far ahead, she was over the stop bar, and now she was afraid to commit to making her turn.
I politely got out and explained to him that I was anxious to turn and get to my hair appointment on time, but me getting t-boned would completely block the intersection and very likely make it impassable for him, what with the debris and two smoking vehicles. He should have thanked me for another 60 second delay (seriously, she had no business driving that behemoth) rather than having to find a detour.
TL:DR People in enormous trucks and SUVs should hang back a bit when waiting to turn left so as not to block sight lines for those turning right in the next lane.
Pppppptttthhhhhh zoolander gif
I feel like I'm missing some sort of context.
@DrunkCat https://meh.com/forum/topics/to-the-guy-waiting-at-the-stoplight-beside-me
It'll bring tears to your eyes . . . one way or another.
how not to turn left:
@carl669
@Lotsofgoats i see what you did there.
@Lotsofgoats This is how left turns should be made out of parking lots onto busy arterials. In Texas, folks seem to assume that traffic coming out of the parking lot has the right of way.
Me....
I learned something today. Thank you.
I knew that if you were already in the intersection when the light turned red, you keep the right of way until you complete your turn and are out of the intersection.
But I learned that only one vehicle at a time should proceed into the intersection to be ready to turn left when oncoming traffic permits.
Thanx!
it's easier to just drive into the intersection and then have the world revolve around you
I want to know where to get the car with the invisibility gadget headed East at 0:20.
Excellent video. Thank you for posting .
@phatmass Now I see why you think you're right and to an extent you are. No matter where you are in the US its never illegal to cross the stop bar if you have a green light and can finish your turning movement prior to the light turning red. Once the light has turned red you can receive a ticket in ANY state that doesn't have a two-second all red time. So, you should only pull into the intersection when you are certain you'll have time to complete your turning movement. Otherwise, you are being dangerous and risk blocking the intersection.
No where in the US are stop lights designed to allow for anyone to pull into the intersection and sit there until the light turns red. This is when what you are describing becomes dangerous and illegal. I, nor anyone I know or have worked with, have ever nor will ever design a stoplight with the intention of someone sitting in the middle of it. This is something cities and states recognize will happen and assume you have sense enough to know when you can complete your turn. This movement can and has been interpreted as reckless driving. So the next time you're sitting in the middle of an intersection knowing full well you won't be able to make your turn until the light turns red think about what you'll do when someone catches the adjacent light just in time to sail through and T-bone your drivers side door.
@RedHot @phatmass
From State of Michigan website:
Question: My husband just got a ticket for running a yellow light. How is that possible? I thought as long as you didn't speed up, you could go through a yellow.
Answer: MCL 257.612 states in part, " ...vehicular traffic facing the signal shall stop before entering the nearest crosswalk at the intersection or at a limit line when marked, but if the stop cannot be made in safety, a vehicle may be driven cautiously through the intersection."
The bottom line is, unless it is dangerous to stop, you must stop when the light turns yellow. The only exception is when you are preparing to make a left turn and you are already within the intersection. You can complete your left turn after oncoming traffic has stopped, even if the light turns red.
http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,4643,7-123-1586_27094-73839--,00.html#rules
@phatmass fortunately I am very used to dealing with the public and people who have very strong feelings and beliefs that they know the law better than I (and in many cases thinking they can do my job better than I can). They don't and they can't. Roadway Design has very little to do with laws, just because something is accepted doesn't mean its legal. If everything illegal thing was enforced we'd all be in a lot of trouble. I'm just glad I don't live near you, there are plenty of unsafe drivers in my area, we don't need anymore.
@phatmass It was in response to RedHot and his statement: "Once the light has turned red you can receive a ticket in ANY state that doesn't have a two-second all red time."
The bolded/italicised portion of my comment refuted that statement.
literally every source online is correctly stating that entering an intersection on a green light is legal, regardless of when one completes their turn. any alternative interpretation of the law is false.
additionally, drivers are not required to turn in this manner.
furthermore, THIS THREAD IS DUMB LOL
Left turns across traffic are an intrinsic hazard, as are traditional cross intersections, both of which lead to high-speed t-bone collisions. Roundabouts are the best way to make a left turn, @phatmass.
@joelmw IMHO, driving directly ON the left side of the road is the safest way to turn left - such as in a diverging diamond interchange. Which driving on one will literally fuck you all up the first time - and then you'll come to love it. Much like really good weed.
@Pavlov I'm a simple man. Roundabouts seem much simpler to me.
@joelmw Than the weed?