I was so angry when I rented the DVD and discovered they’d removed the phrase “…in a Buick” from the Lithgow character’s line.
If there’s a turning lane, USE IT. There’s a major busy street near me with a turning lane. I don’t know how many times I’ve been stuck behind someone who’s trying to turn left from the thru lane. That’s when I use my horn, but the oblivious driver doesn’t get it.
And if you’re turning left at a light, in most states, you should pull into the intersection and wait for a break in the oncoming traffic, or for the light to change. You won’t be in anyone’s way.
And if you’re on a side street and you need to show down or pull over for any reason, use your signal. The driver behind you isn’t a mind reader, and has no idea why you’re slowing down or pulling over.
And if you’re turning right on red, but the car in front of you is going straight, it’s not ok to lay on your horn just because you don’t feel like waiting. A teenager did that to me, and I just sat there waiting for the light to change. He impatiently drove over the curb and through a field, causing one of his tires to go flat. Instant karma.
When you are turning left at an intersection, stop behind the wide white line. Do not stop a car length in front of that line.
Yes, it is set back from the intersection, and you are saving precious seconds by having already crossed those few feet, but it is set back so that people turning left from your right can turn into the lane next to you. When you are up that far, instead, they have to go past your car before they then can swing way out to make the turn.
And, not only does it slow down the traffic trying to turn left, but it slows you down as well. Are you sitting on the sensor that turns the light? No, you are 15 feet in front of it. You will sit there until someone else pulls up behind you and triggers the light.
Yeah, the ideal use of turn signals, which any low-grade nitwit could master (thus being largely out of reach of many of the drivers I observe) is to turn them on as early as possible once you have passed any other exits/turns that might confuse people. The moment you pass the point that might cause other drivers to misunderstand, like the last driveway before your intended right turn, turn on your signal. You know exactly where that point is and where those potentially-confusable drivers are because you are paying some damned attention to your driving.
In most cases, you should not do this. Generally, it is against the traffic code to pull into an intersection to turn across oncoming traffic, and if the light is changing you are not supposed to begin a turn. If you can see a break in the traffic coming, it’s fine.
If you don’t pull into an intersection during a green light to wait to turn left in Chicago other drivers will wonder what the hell is wrong with you. And maybe honk. Most likely swear at you too. We actually have left turn arrows at some intersections that are red when you are not supposed to do this.
I think it comes into play when traffic volume is at a certain level such as in big cities especially during commuting hours. If there is no left turn arrow, and you don’t enter the intersection during green to begin the turn, you may sit there forever because there may never be a break in traffic coming the other way, or at least for a very long time. Sometimes the only way for a car or two to sneak through going left is when the light is changing.
If you cannot complete your turn once traffic is clear, that is correct. However, controlling the intersection is certainly legal in Ohio, and I am sure quite a number of states.
A quick googling comes up with several driver’s ed websites for several states that specifically say to do so. For instance
As this is pretty much the exact opposite of what you said, can you find anything that supports what you said?
Or from following the law.
nm
Yep for sure. Also - you need to pull up as far as you can to see properly and take opportunity of a break in traffic.