I’ve wondered about this for a while. A few years back I was leaving an office building everyday, and getting on a highway at an interchange that was a complete “cloverleaf” - 4 “lobes” as well as separate long access lanes outside the lobes.
(For those familiar with Bay Area, the interchange I’m discussing is Ralston Avenue onto 101 - by the Oracle campus in Belmont/Redwood Shores)
Anyway, I would come up to this interchange wanting to get on the highway and travel in a direction which meant I was supposed to take a right onto one of the long access lanes. After a while, I determined that if the access lane was backed up a certain distance, I was actually ahead of the game by performing a curious little manuever - I would continue on to the entrance intended to take the highway the other direction, stay all the way to the right, and travel around three lobes of the cloverleaf to wind up going the direction I wanted. Because almost all the entering traffic was headed one direction (north to SF and the San Mateo bridge), none of those lobes backed up. By noting where cars were on the intended access lane I could verify that I actually got out onto the freeway well ahead of my spot in line.
Most likely many others have figured it out too. They’re just zipping along the cloverleafs like you are. Also, you must be a problem-solver by nature. You saw a problem - long waiting queue - sought out solutions, and found one.
I can think of a couple of reasons others just wait in the queue: they’ve learned to “tough it out,” they’ll just put up with life’s little annoyances and won’t try to fix them; or they perceive driving as a physical effort and prefer to wait in line instead of going through the extra motions of by passing it with a triple-reverse-turn.
[hijack]
On my way to work in the morning (Hwy 237 in Santa Clara), traffic gets backed up just before my exit. But the exit before is made in such a way that the ramp continues on to become the next entrance to the highway, and that entrance continues on to become my exit. So I always take this previous exit and bypass the traffic, using the ramp as a collector lane so to speak. I always wonder if that is illegal.
Also, once I figured it out, I noticed that many others are doing the same trick, so I’m not alone.
[/hijack]
I am not sure about the olegality of that. I do know that there are off ramp lanes that turn into on-ramps to the same freeway (Interstate 5 down by Dodger Stadium at Staium Way for example) and there is a sign that says “Thru Traffic OK” meaning it is legal. However, in thne absence of such a sign I am not sure what the law is.
I am not sure about the legality of that. I do know that there are off ramp lanes that turn into on-ramps to the same freeway (Interstate 5 down by Dodger Stadium at Staium Way for example) and there is a sign that says “Thru Traffic OK” meaning it is legal. However, in thne absence of such a sign I am not sure what the law is.
Any question regarding the California Vehicle Code essentially boils down to the Basic Driving Rule, which says that anything you do on the roads is permissible, as long as it is safe. You can even get out of a speeding ticket if you’re able to prove that doing 40 in a 35mph zone was “safe” under the conditions.
I can’t think of any condition that would make the actions described by yabob or passerby unsafe, as long as they stayed on the legally marked part of the roadway. In fact, it’s probably a lot safer to avoid the queue for a backed-up offramp, which is notoriously unsafe (but not illegal.)
Sometimes I’ll even drive all four loops on a cloverleaf and continue in the direction I was going, just for the hell of it. Yes, I have no life.
Since you are travelling on a normally travelled portion of the roadway and you presumably aren’t doing anything like crossing through a gore-point (one of my favorite terms I learned in traffic school), you should be OK.
This is not strictly correct. The “basic rule” in California deals specifically with speeding, not with "anything you do on the roads. It is section 22350, which provides:
What this means is that in addition to whatever duty you might have pursuant to statute, you also have the duty to drive reasonably and prudently at all times. It is true that you cannot be convicted of speeding unless you have violated section 22350, but exceeding the posted speed limit is itself evidence that you have done so:
So while it may be theoretically possible to get out of a speeding ticket for violating a posted speed limit, the fact that the posted speed limit itself represents the upper limit of safe or prudent speed means that this would be very, very difficult to do.
None of which has much to do with the OP, but still . . . .
Hmm, I just thought I would try to nip this one in the bud before it grew to big…
Jeremy: Actually it depends on what the officer sites you with. There are two different Sections that you can violate when you speed. The first one is this:
Basically what this says is that if it is raining outside and there is a giant oil spill on the road then even if you do the speed limit you can get a ticket because it is not safe to drive 65 mph on a freeway that is covered in oil and water. Now if it is Sunny outside, no water on the road, and you are going the speed limit and a PO gives you a ticket under this Section then you can probably get out of it.
The second Section they can get you for is this one:
This is called the prima facie limit and it cannot be violated. Basically this law says that you can not drive faster than what it says in section 22349 and 22356. Section 22349 defines what the highway speed is (65 mph unless it is a two lane undivided highway, in which case it is 55, blah blah blah) and Section 22356 says that the speed limit can be raised to 70 in special circumstancs ( in California this would be I-5). This section you can not argue out of. If you are doing 40 in a 35 and the PO cites you for a prima facie violation then you are screwed.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor am I a PO so despite the fact I quoted this directly from the State of California’s Vehicle Codes web page I will not be responsible for any errors. Don’t bet the bank on something you read on the Internet.
Ah, the old “three rights make a left, but nine rights make three lefts, and therefore a right” trick.
I’d be willing to put money on either A) it’s legal, B) no cop would ticket you for it, C) no cop would actually notice it.
As for why more people don’t do it: I do it, but I think it takes a special kind of person to actually act on the idea. After all, the first time you did it, you probably weren’t sure it was going to save you any time, right? But you did it in the name of science (or boredom)! Lots of people wouldn’t bother. I bet you take stuff apart to find out how it works, too. Just a hunch.
And J.E.T., I regularly run all 4 lobes of a cloverleaf near where I live, then continue, because I really like driving my car. Of course, I’ll only do this late at night when I’m guaranteed there’s no traffic around to slow me down.
I drove for a courier service for a short time and they told you how and where to it. “Where” to do it was anywhere it would save time, but there were particular ramps always backed up during rush hour where the ramp to go the opposite direction was usually clear. Nobody had ever gotten stopped for doing it. -It’s the fastest way to turn around on a divided highway, too. - MC
