# Does your town have "suicide lanes"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551 "2011-05-11T19:02:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/21 "2011-05-11T22:40:00Z")
In Cincinnati, Beechmont Avenue between Route 32 and downtown Mt. Washington used to have three lanes, with the middle lane switching back and forth between westbound and eastbound traffic depending on the time of day. The middle lane was marked with dashed double yellow lines. A glance at Google Maps seems to indicate they’ve since removed that… feature. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/22 "2011-05-11T22:52:27Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > No, but in Virginia, where I lived. It’s a single lane in the middle that provides a turn lane for cars traveling in either direction. But wait you ask, if you’re moving left to get into the turn lane how can you know if someone will suddenly and without signalling move to turn left from the opposite lane? Answer: you don’t. It’s freaking scary. A center turn lane is very common. Did the roads you are talking about also have the rush hour thru-traffic feature? That’s what I’m talking about when I say “suicide lane.” ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/23 "2011-05-11T22:58:22Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > No, but in Virginia, where I lived. It’s a single lane in the middle that provides a turn lane for cars traveling in either direction. But wait you ask, if you’re moving left to get into the turn lane how can you know if someone will suddenly and without signalling move to turn left from the opposite lane? Answer: you don’t. It’s freaking scary. That’s what we called suicide lanes as well. Although they were also used to enter the road if you have to make a left hand turn onto a busy road, and both lanes are never empty at the same time, you wait till the left-to-right traffic has an opening, then zip to the center lane, and creep until there is an opening to merge into a proper lane. We were never quite sure if this was legal, because if someone in the right to left traffic wanted to make a left turn and started to pull into the lane while you were pulling out.. Well that’s why we called them suicide lanes. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/24 "2011-05-11T23:04:34Z")
Here’s a Wikipedia articele on suicide lanes, aka [reversible lanes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_lane), for those who have never encountered them. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/25 "2011-05-11T23:22:55Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Growing up in Tucson we had what everyone referred to as “suicide lanes” which were the middle lane of the road which was for left turns most of the day, but during certain hours in the morning it was driving traffic in one direction, and during certain hours in the afternoon it was driving traffic in the other direction. They’ve since gotten rid of them because they were too dangerous. > > I’m curious how many other places have them. Does your town? Have you seen them before? Have you even heard of them? They have them on Rt 29 in Silver Springs, MD, near where I live, but I haven’t heard the term “suicide lane.” ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/26 "2011-05-11T23:27:53Z")
Never heard of such a thing. In some places around here we have the center turn lanes, but they never turn into regular lanes in alternating directions or anything. Once in a while it might get reappropriated into a regular lane due to construction, but there will be marking and usually barrels or cones or something so no one’s confused about what’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/27 "2011-05-11T23:54:22Z")
Seattle has (used to have?) reversible lanes, but growing up, what we called “suicide lanes” were just turn lanes in the middle that you’d speed into to get across a few lanes of traffic, then cruise down the turn lane until you could merge into the lane going your way. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/28 "2011-05-12T00:12:26Z")
We had one stretch of road with those red Xs and they always caused confusion. I’m almost positive they got rid of them but it’s so rare for me to be on that street I couldn’t say for sure. I bet another Memphian could tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![Jennmonkye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@Jennmonkye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennmonkye)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/29 "2011-05-12T00:42:42Z")
Omaha has a couple. They seem to work pretty well unless an out-of-towner decides to make a left turn. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/30 "2011-05-12T00:54:43Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > That’s what we called suicide lanes as well. Although they were also used to enter the road if you have to make a left hand turn onto a busy road, and both lanes are never empty at the same time, you wait till the left-to-right traffic has an opening, then zip to the center lane, and creep until there is an opening to merge into a proper lane. We were never quite sure if this was legal, because if someone in the right to left traffic wanted to make a left turn and started to pull into the lane while you were pulling out.. Well that’s why we called them suicide lanes. This is what we call a suicide lane. I’ve been all over the country and they’re pretty much everywhere. IMO, a lane that reverses direction during different traffic rushes is not necessarily a suicide lane, unless it serves as a suicide lane during the non-peak hours. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/31 "2011-05-12T01:17:53Z")
Fort Hood had some, and Selfridge had some, and the bridge to the island that’s really now a peninsula in San Diego had them, except in the case of the latter a machine moved a physical barrier from one lane to the other in order to prevent mistakes. Actually during construction in the north of Mexico City recently they had the same on a major highway. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/32 "2011-05-12T02:34:28Z")
The two most well-known in DC are NW 16th Street and upper Connecticut Ave. They have been that way as long as I can remember. I’ve never heard that they have higher accident rates than other roads. ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/33 "2011-05-12T02:51:14Z")
Phoenix here too. I grew up right off of 7th avenue and learned pretty quickly what hours you couldn’t make left turns off of it or 7th street. Theres no lights to indicate the reverse lanes, just signage that is apparently useless, based on the number of people who misuse the lanes. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/34 "2011-05-12T03:15:36Z")
None where I live now, but we used to live in Omaha, where the main thoroughfare to town had suicide lanes. It seemed to me, though, they were never used as left turn lanes; they were always open to either incoming or outbound traffic depending on the time of day. I remember it seemed like a really dangerous idea and a recipe for a head-on collision when we first moved there. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/35 "2011-05-12T03:28:24Z")
I’ve never heard the term but those lanes are in many Midwestern cities and suburbs. They seem especially popular for older parts of town where the road can’t be widened further to accomodate heavy traffic loads and lots of retail shops. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/36 "2011-05-12T06:24:03Z")
Mine doesn’t (just not big enough) but both Barcelona and Seville do have something similar: they don’t change direction at given times, but depending on how traffic is behaving. The one I know in Seville is specially… interesting, as it happens to be on the bridge over the harbor (Puente Quinto Centenario), a bridge which also has a lower speed than the road to which it belongs, well-labeled speed radars and, quite often, cops writing tickets. I’m sure the ticket for “driving the wrong way and at a higher-than-allowed speed on a dangerous spot” has to be painful. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/37 "2011-05-12T13:42:14Z")
Charlotte has a couple reversible lanes. North of San Francisco, Highway 37 was nicknamed “Blood Highway” as it was one lane in each direction with a center passing lane that occasionally changed sides, which led to a lot of horrific head-on crashes. Now, it’s got a center barrier ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/38 "2011-05-12T13:42:57Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > They have them on Rt 29 in Silver Springs, MD, near where I live, but I haven’t heard the term “suicide lane.” Hello, neighbor! Georgia Ave, too. I drive on one of those streets pretty regularly. I’ve never noticed any problems caused by the lane changes. I think it’s pretty tame compared to other things the DC area does to deal with rush hour traffic. I find Connecticut Ave a little more nerve-wracking - it has two lanes that change direction depending on the time of day, but they’re never turn lanes. Rock Creek Parkway is another. I’m always a little afraid that I’m going to go around a bend and run head on into a car that has somehow gotten onto the parkway going the other way during one-way hours. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/39 "2011-05-12T15:37:28Z")
We have them but never heard them called that. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/40 "2011-05-12T18:11:20Z")
There are, I believe, some such lanes on Connecticut Avenue in Washington DC, which is close enough to be “my town”. The HOV (carpool) lanes on Interstate 95/395 switch directions between morning rush and evening rush, but they’re carefully policed and you can’t get on them in the wrong direction, so that doesn’t count. I-66 has shoulder lanes. You’re only supposed to use those for driving if the sign over them has a green arrow (or something; I don’t think I’ve ever been on the road when they were legal to use). The rest of the time, there’s a big red X over them. Of course, one of the entrances dumps you into that lane… so you see a lot of cars driving merrily along on it, then seeing the X and hastily zipping into the main roadway. Those shoulder lanes terrify me. What if you need to use the shoulder for pulling off - and literally cannot make it to one of the breakdown pullouts that appear sporadically - and get slammed by some moron who doesn’t realize s/he shouldn’t be driving in that lane? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551.md?page=3)