# No Turn On Red Signs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-turn-on-red-signs/608406 "2012-01-04T18:29:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hilary\_Algar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilary_algar/32/4282_2.png) [@Hilary\_Algar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilary_Algar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-turn-on-red-signs/608406/42 "2012-01-07T14:11:32Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I believe it’s normally at intersections w/ green left turn arrows. Too many accidents when you have people from both directions trying to turn onto the same street. “No Right Turn on Red” signs are also heavily in use with heavy pedestrian traffic or at intersection angles such that it is difficult for the driver to see traffic coming from the left. Many injuries to pedestrians have occurred at Red Light intersections where the driver turns right on red while ignoring pedestrian traffic. “No Right Turn on Red” signs (when pedestrians are present) have been proposed to ameliorate this situation. [http://www.nj.gov/lps/hts/pedestrian.html](http://www.nj.gov/lps/hts/pedestrian.html) ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-turn-on-red-signs/608406/43 "2012-01-07T17:21:37Z")
It used to be that a red light meant “stop, until its no longer red, period.” Some localities legalized, “turn after stop.” As a fuel-saving measure, during the 70s?, “right turn after stop” was made the default law nationally, but localities could change it. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-turn-on-red-signs/608406/44 "2012-01-07T17:51:17Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > The entire Island of Montreal is a no-right-turn-on-red zone; there are no exceptions. If you’re allowed to turn right, you’ll have a green arrow (or regular green light). > > Off-island (the rest of the province), it’s only been a few years that right-on-red has been allowed, and in most major intersections either a green arrow was already installed or they put up a No-turn sign. At smaller intersections, people turn on red more-or-less correctly (the “stop” is often a rolling one, like at stop signs). > > As a result, Montrealers tend to get honked at for failing to turn when they are driving off-island, and others get tickets for making the turns when they visit the city. Wow, that explains a lot. I live in an area _heavily_ populated by snowbirds from Quebec in the winter. Around the holidays, traffic is already hectic, but when you add in a bunch of people who don’t take perfectly legal rights on a red, it gets to be soooo frustrating. :smack: Now at least I know why. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-turn-on-red-signs/608406/45 "2012-01-07T19:52:37Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I live in Massachusetts. We can use a few “no _left_ turn on red” signs. For serious. Bicyclists in particular seem to believe that it’s just nifty to turn left on red. > [@](#): > > That said, some of the “no right turn on red” signs make absolutely no sense. There’s no reason I can see that a right turn shouldn’t be allowed. Some, I’m sure. That said, as a pedestrian I’d like to see a whole lot MORE “no right on red” signs. Plenty of drivers seem to think that the fact that there’s no “no right on red” sign overrides the “walk” signal. Douchebags. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-turn-on-red-signs/608406/46 "2012-01-08T00:27:13Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > For serious. Bicyclists in particular seem to believe that it’s just nifty to turn left on red. I wasn’t there so may well be wrong: many lights are triggered by inductive sensors that ignore bicycles. Many jurisdictions provide for this case in thier traffic codes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-turn-on-red-signs/608406.md?page=2)