# Canadians and left-turn lanes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736 "2011-09-27T03:10:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/21 "2011-09-27T18:15:40Z")
On our first driving trip to the US, we drove into Las Vegas and saw our first suicide lane - with a serious accident in it. I’m good with not having them here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/22 "2011-09-27T18:23:39Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > **Johnny L.A.** is seeing folks mostly from Greater Vancouver is my guess. There may be some shared left turn lanes there, but I don’t know of any. There are none in Calgary. I think there are some in smaller cities like Castlegar and (maybe) Creston. I’m always a little surprised when I see one. Trail and Castlegar have shared lefts, but I don’t think there are any in Nelson. I never thought about it until this thread, but I have seen c ouple of BC license plates doing this (turning from the thru-lane) in Colville, WA and thought they were just lost or something. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/23 "2011-09-27T18:24:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > On our first driving trip to the US, we drove into Las Vegas and saw our first suicide lane - with a serious accident in it. Strangely, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a head-on collision in a left-turn lane. Your ‘first trip’ comment reminds me of something I read once – possibly here. Someone’s relative came to the U.S. and assumed the left-turn lane was one of the ‘passing lanes’ he’d heard so much about. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/24 "2011-09-27T18:28:20Z")
When I think about it, I’ve seen a couple of suicide lanes in Saskatoon near downtown, but nowhere else. What seems to happen is that people are half in the suicide lane and half out of it, so the through left lane has to stop anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/25 "2011-09-27T18:42:02Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > Ah, my mistake. I take back what I said. Those would confuse the hell out of me too 🙂 Generally, they’re marked fairly clearly. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/26 "2011-09-27T18:43:57Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > When I think about it, I’ve seen a couple of suicide lanes in Saskatoon near downtown, but nowhere else. What seems to happen is that people are half in the suicide lane and half out of it, so the through left lane has to stop anyway. The only suicide lanes in Saskatoon I can think of are 2nd Ave N, just for a couple blocks, and 51st St E between Faithfull and Millar. I’m not sure there are any others anywhere in the province. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/27 "2011-09-27T20:29:01Z")
Using Google Earth, I’ve found instances of two-way turn lanes in Surrey ([#1](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=49.108259,-122.823238&spn=0.000802,0.002642&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=0&layer=c&cbll=49.108226,-122.823369&panoid=bPuGPxL0XhpD7Fvj31D-Xw&cbp=12,3.15,,0,10.78), [#2](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=49.138704,-122.839511&spn=0.000802,0.002642&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=49.138604,-122.839796&panoid=PdIP1GgR_j_2Af60FeMyog&cbp=12,328.15,,0,0)), [Abbotsford](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=49.045497,-122.295336&spn=0.000803,0.002642&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=0&layer=c&cbll=49.045553,-122.295212&panoid=J5whecVJZUxFGp_3ykkJEA&cbp=12,63.23,,0,9.32), [Langley](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=49.107729,-122.651184&spn=0.000802,0.002642&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=49.107729,-122.651184&panoid=BZug8hKeGxrGz28obaqMuw&cbp=12,30.86,,0,9.41), and [Kelowna](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=49.883271,-119.434658&spn=0.00079,0.002642&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=49.883263,-119.434828&panoid=tlKp60XYQ3P2UWo28EWJEg&cbp=12,284.75,,0,0). They might not be as common in BC as they are in other places, but so far I’ve been able to find several just by descending on a random community and searching for a minute or two. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/28 "2011-09-27T20:46:07Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > ETA: Well, except in Western Canada, apparently. No, we’ve got some here. One is on a street not far from where I live. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/29 "2011-09-28T01:24:46Z")
I seem to recall one in Cranbrook, maybe? Kelowna? Yeah, I’ve seen them, but very rarely. I understand how they work, but they’re not common. (I’m in Calgary, btw) ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/30 "2011-09-28T03:47:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > A better response could not be written. Aww, shucks. Thanks! FWIW, I lived most of my life in Western Canada, not in the East. I know I’ve seen and used those type of ‘suicide lanes’, but I’ve lived in a bunch of different cities and towns and it’s hard to remember where exactly I’ve seen them. It doesn’t surprise me that some people would be confused by a left-turn lane set up that way. But I still think that’s a tourist thing, not a Canadian thing. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/31 "2011-09-28T04:00:09Z")
Well, this is embarassing. I went downtown tonight to see James Randi speak (not the embarassing part) and noticed that Kipling Avenue has these shared left turn lanes on it. This road is a major one, and only a few blocks from my home. Apparently my powers of observation leave something to be desired 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/32 "2011-09-28T18:33:38Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > The only suicide lanes in Saskatoon I can think of are 2nd Ave N, just for a couple blocks, and 51st St E between Faithfull and Millar. I’m not sure there are any others anywhere in the province. Yeah, 2nd Ave N was what I was thinking of. I lived on 3rd when they were making those suicide lanes - thought they were super-weird. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/33 "2011-09-28T19:29:40Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > Well, this is embarassing. I went downtown tonight to see James Randi speak (not the embarassing part) and noticed that Kipling Avenue has these shared left turn lanes on it. This road is a major one, and only a few blocks from my home. Apparently my powers of observation leave something to be desired 😃 Yonge Street has them between Finch and Steeles, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/34 "2011-09-28T19:42:22Z")
There actually is at least one suicide left turn lane here in Calgary - I vaguely recalled seeing it lately, and my husband confirms that it is on 52nd. Ave. (I forgot to ask him which quadrant - I’ll have to get back to you on that one). ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/35 "2011-09-28T20:59:46Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > Around here, we call it the “[suicide lane](http://yudrivebad.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/suicide_lane.png?w=431&h=233)”. Huh. My understanding of the term suicide lane wasn’t a simple shared left turn lane, but one in which it acts as a straight lane for one direction of traffic for a certain period of time each day, then for the rest of the day it reverses direction. God help you if you forget which direction it’s going in at a given time. Maybe I’ve just been desensitized. I’ve only seen a couple of those kinds of lanes around here in Arizona, but shared left turn lanes are absolutely everywhere where there’s not an actual median. For the most part we can navigate them pretty well, though I’ve had a few close calls at the turn-off into my neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/36 "2011-09-28T21:07:19Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Wow. Who’d have thought that driving in Western Canada would be different? I would have thought suicide lanes were standard everywhere. How can they not be? We [even have them](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14287306#post14287306) here in NH! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/37 "2011-09-29T01:11:13Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Maybe I’ve just been desensitized. I’ve only seen a couple of those kinds of lanes around here in Arizona, but shared left turn lanes are absolutely everywhere where there’s not an actual median. For the most part we can navigate them pretty well, though I’ve had a few close calls at the turn-off into my neighborhood. They’re easy to use, cheap to construct, and shouldn’t present any problems once you’ve used them once. Except… in the last 10 years or so stupid people have started to use them to make left turns _from_ parking lots into the flow of traffic. I can’t tell you how many near misses I’ve had with these assholes. Just wait for a break in traffic, or turn right and make a U-turn. Of course I’m surprised at the number of people who don’t know that U-turns are legal. How’d people get their licenses in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/38 "2011-09-29T01:24:48Z")
They’re all over the place in BC where I’m from. I use them all the time as does everyone else. Never seen or had a problem with them. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/39 "2011-09-29T01:26:57Z")
Yeah, shared left-turn lanes are _quite_ common here in Ontario. > [@curlcoat](#): > > Canadians are wonderful people, but unless things have changed A LOT since I lived up there, they simply cannot drive… We drive in metric. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736/40 "2011-09-29T01:30:50Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Yeah, shared left-turn lanes are _quite_ common here in Ontario. We drive in metric. 🙂 Ah, is that the problem? :smack:😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-and-left-turn-lanes/597736.md?page=3)