# "This vehicle does not turn right on red" -- why not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968 "2019-10-18T20:00:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/41 "2019-10-22T18:09:57Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Thanks to the absurd Michigan left turn, if a visitor comes to any of the populated areas here, they better be prepared to take an expiditious one-way to one-way left on red as well, or endure a severe honking. In Oregon, you can make a left turn on red as long as the street you’re turning on to is one-way. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on a one-way street or not. ([cite](https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2015/10/turn_left_on_red_the_devils_in.html)) I doubt if you’ll get a honking if you don’t take them though. A lot of people are unaware of this rule and NW drivers are, in general, too polite to honk in that situation. > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > UPS no longer permits their drivers to make left hand turns…period. Their routes are laid out so that they only can make right hand turns. > > They have reduced the number of accidents their drivers are involved with significantly with this simple change in their routing policy. I strongly suspect that that rule is because post office delivery vehicles have the driver on the right side to facilitate delivery to streetside mailboxes. I also suspect that there will be exceptions where it’s impossible for some routes to be laid out with having either a left turn or a ridiculously long detour away from the route. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/42 "2019-10-22T18:37:08Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I strongly suspect that that rule is because post office delivery vehicles have the driver on the right side to facilitate delivery to streetside mailboxes. I also suspect that there will be exceptions where it’s impossible for some routes to be laid out with having either a left turn or a ridiculously long detour away from the route. UPS not U **S** PS - I mean, the Post Office might do it, too, but UPS vehicles have the driver on the left side. They do it because it saves time and gas and results in fewer accidents- but it’s not a complete ban [https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/world/ups-trucks-no-left-turns/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/world/ups-trucks-no-left-turns/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/43 "2019-10-22T18:57:42Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > UPS no longer permits their drivers to make left hand turns…period. Their routes are laid out so that they only can make right hand turns. > > They have reduced the number of accidents their drivers are involved with significantly with this simple change in their routing policy. They still allow lefts when it’s feasible and necessary, especially in residential areas and intersections where right-hand turns are not feasible. The UPS driver that comes to my place of business twice a day makes left-hand turns to get here, and when he goes further down the street to drop off packages, he makes another left. EDIT TO ADD: I talked to a few of our UPS drivers a few months back and they said that the No Left Turn rule is not written in stone for residential deliveries or some intersections where it’s difficult to do. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/44 "2019-10-23T00:01:58Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > … > Actually, in California, it’s not the case that the pedestrian always has the right of way. I got ticketed for causing an accident while jaywalking (funny thing was my buddy was the one driving the pickup that hit me). Luckily, it wasn’t that serious an accident. In CA, cars must always yield right of way to pedestrians _even if the pedestrian is pedestrianing illegally_. Your buddy technically should have _also_ gotten a ticket, but reaction time is taken into account. Thr point is you can’t just knowingly plow into a jaywalkers blameless. But traffic coming to a halt? In my experience, “yielding” consists of honking and swerving, not often stopping. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/45 "2019-10-23T18:33:15Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > In Oregon, you can make a left turn on red as long as the street you’re turning on to is one-way. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on a one-way street or not. Actually, that’s the case in Michigan, too, despite that poster’s wording. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/46 "2019-10-24T13:56:47Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Actually, that’s the case in Michigan, too, despite that poster’s wording. Yeah, but turning left from a two-way is very rarely done at all, and I have never seen anyone honked at for not doing it. But it seems a lot of Michigan left turns are timed assuming people will be turning left on red , and if they don’t, it screws everybody behind them up a cycle or two. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/47 "2019-10-24T17:41:38Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > UPS no longer permits their drivers to make left hand turns…period. Their routes are laid out so that they only can make right hand turns. > > They have reduced the number of accidents their drivers are involved with significantly with this simple change in their routing policy. This is timely! I’m expecting a UPS delivery today and following it online. I was a bit confused by the route he was taking around my neighborhood, but the “no left turns” thing probably explains it. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/48 "2019-10-24T18:11:20Z")
In Iowa we can always turn right on red unless there’s a sign saying otherwise, and we come to a complete stop regardless. We can also to the same for going left, IF going from one one-way to another. My city doesn’t have tons of one-ways, so I don’t do it very often at all. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/49 "2019-10-25T01:01:28Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I remember “left on red” being trialled in Sydney (there was one on the street my uncle and aunt lived on). That was at least twenty years ago. I see no sign of it being adopted all round the country, and the sign at the end of the street in question that said this was allowed, seems to have disappeared. So the Australian vote seems to be a solid “meh” VicRoads (vic.aus) did an analysis, and decided that in this state, even though drivers wanted it, the additional deaths/casualties would not be politically sustainable. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_McGinty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@Mrs\_McGinty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_McGinty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/50 "2019-10-25T11:53:33Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > BTW, interestingly for Western folks, honking in India is not considered rude, it is an essential element of street communication. I have lost count of how many times I escaped injury by means of a well-timed honk from a speeding vehicle. A friend of mine in Bangalore calls it ‘road sonar’, and argues that it’s downright irresponsible _not_ to honk all the time. Since there’s no concept of lane discipline, and road traffic laws are scarcely acknowledged even by the most careful drivers, constant honking is the only way anyone knows what anyone else is doing. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968/51 "2019-10-25T12:03:14Z")
There’s a lot of people in these parts that won’t turn right on red. I’ve noticed that it happens predominately at red light photo enforced intersections. For some reason, people seem to equate “photo enforced” with “no turn on red” when, in fact, the two have nothing to do with one another. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vehicle-does-not-turn-right-on-red-why-not/841968.md?page=2)