# Why do People turn LEFT on Red lights? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024 "2009-07-05T23:46:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/1 "2009-07-05T23:46:53Z")
Believe it or not, I have seen a few cars in recent days turn **LEFT** on a red light. Granted, I live in Gwinnett County (Metro Atlanta) GA. Our traffic sucks. Why are people Turning Left on Red lights? Either, they are incredibly stupid, or, I am getting wooshed somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/2 "2009-07-05T23:49:47Z")
If it’s from one one-way street to another, and of course if the vehicle is going the correct way on both of them, it’s just like turning right on red at a normal intersection. Of course, if it’s not that, then the possibility of people being incredibly stupid can’t be ruled out, either. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/3 "2009-07-05T23:56:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If it’s from one one-way street to another, and of course if the vehicle is going the correct way on both of them, it’s just like turning right on red at a normal intersection. Of course, if it’s not that, then the possibility of people being incredibly stupid can’t be ruled out, either. Oh, Wow, what do you know, it’s Chronos. You remembered that there are other parts of this message board too, eh? 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Harry1945](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Harry1945](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry1945)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/4 "2009-07-06T00:04:55Z")
It will vary by State, I believe. In Washington, it’s legal to turn left against a red light onto a one-way street, whether the street you are turning from is one-way or not, provided you’re in the appropriate lane, and there is no sign saying you can’t. I know a retired LEO in California who says the same act in that State is illegal. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/5 "2009-07-06T00:09:02Z")
> [@Harry1945](#): > > It will vary by State, I believe. In Washington, it’s legal to turn left against a red light onto a one-way street, whether the street you are turning from is one-way or not, provided you’re in the appropriate lane, and there is no sign saying you can’t. I know a retired LEO in California who says the same act in that State is illegal. I remember when PA first added right on red, they had a similar law for left on red (but you had to be turning from a one-way street also). I suspect most of the instances the OP is seeing are brain farts and / or assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/6 "2009-07-06T00:16:28Z")
When I first saw the post title, I thought of people who had already pulled into the intersection, then the light turned red and they completed the turn. Or, on a similar train of thought, the people who _weren’t_ in the intersection but still felt the right to turn after the light had turned red. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/7 "2009-07-06T00:34:50Z")
That’s how I first learned to turn left in LA – pull forward a bit, wait for either the light to turn so the oncoming traffic would stop, or very very very rarely, for traffic to clear so I could go left while it was still green. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/8 "2009-07-06T00:37:54Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I suspect most of the instances the OP is seeing are brain farts and / or assholes. Yes well, unfortunately, knowing that they are assholes won’t stop them from doing it. I just want to be a fly on the wall, of their car when they do it. > [@Serenata67](#): > > When I first saw the post title, I thought of people who had already pulled into the intersection, then the light turned red and they completed the turn. Or, on a similar train of thought, the people who _weren’t_ in the intersection but still felt the right to turn after the light had turned red. No. I’m talking about people who are 100% stopped, behind the line at a red light. The entire “I’m in the middle of the intersection, so I can go ahead and turn” is not this debate. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/9 "2009-07-06T00:47:12Z")
Traffic management sucks so bad in Atlanta that I can understand some people running red lights just so they don’t have to wait an extra 5 minutes for the light to cycle. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/10 "2009-07-06T01:04:22Z")
Are you sure the left turn lane is actually red? Some jurisdictions have introduced the blinking red arrow to allow left turns after a stop from a left-turn-only lane. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/11 "2009-07-06T01:15:29Z")
What about the lanes beside the turners? Are they green or red? ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/12 "2009-07-06T01:21:45Z")
I say this honestly and without snark intended: it’s because traffic laws are seemingly viewed as a set of stern suggestions there… Seriously - I lived there for a few months and was astonished. Right of way? Screw that! Red lights might as well have been decorations, and yellow lights meant “do everything in your power to cause the death of a nearby human being.” I’ve lived in several large cities and small towns, and I truly have never seen such…unique interpretations of traffic laws as I did when I lived in Duluth. I mean no disrespect or sarcasm by my answer - I’ve had other people tell me that that place is like some traffic law vortex, so I know it wasn’t just me. That having been said, in the downtown Duluth area there are a few piddly little one-way streets where it’s possible to legally turn left on a red. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/13 "2009-07-06T01:25:01Z")
> [@Harry1945](#): > > It will vary by State, I believe. In Washington, it’s legal to turn left against a red light onto a one-way street, whether the street you are turning from is one-way or not, provided you’re in the appropriate lane, and there is no sign saying you can’t. I know a retired LEO in California who says the same act in that State is illegal. Well, that’s wrong. It’s definitely legal in CA: [cite](http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21453.htm) > [@](#): > > 1. (a) A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication to proceed is shown, except as provided in subdivision (b). > > (b) Except when a sign is in place prohibiting a turn, a driver, after stopping as required by subdivision (a), facing a steady circular red signal, **may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto a one-way street.** A driver making that turn shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any vehicle that has approached or is approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard to the driver, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that vehicle until the driver can proceed with reasonable safety. ETA: I didn’t see the “one way or not” part in your post – yeah, crossing oncoming traffic lanes against a red light is a no-no. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/14 "2009-07-06T02:17:06Z")
If they’re going on a red and weren’t already in the intersection, then they are assholes. Now I’m having flashbacks of getting lost in Atlanta. Every time I was there (and I lived in Augusta for a few years, so I was in Atlanta now and again) I got lost unless I was going to the airport. Every single fucking time. ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/15 "2009-07-06T03:10:31Z")
One reason you might be seeing people turning left on Red Lights in Georgia lately, is because it is actually not currently against the law. The law making left turns on red illegal was recently struck down by the Georgia Supreme court. A cop actually can’t ticket you right now, or if he does it will get thrown out in court. We have to wait till the next meeting of the Georgia general assembly in order for them to create a new Red Light law. I heard about this about two to three weeks ago from my friend who (at the time) was in the Police Academy in Clayton County. I just did a quick Google search (since I know someone will yell CITE?) and [here](http://minx.cc/?post=288334) is the first page I found. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/16 "2009-07-06T03:56:26Z")
Are we talking about turning left against a red arrow where straight has a green light? Or are we talking about turning left against red when the cross street has green? I’ve done the first because (1) it was completely safe for me to turn and (2) I didn’t feel like waiting. The second is pretty stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/17 "2009-07-06T04:26:20Z")
> [@](#): > > One reason you might be seeing people turning left on Red Lights in Georgia lately, is because it is actually not currently against the law. The law making left turns on red illegal was recently struck down by the Georgia Supreme court. On what possible grounds could such a law be struck down? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/18 "2009-07-06T04:28:20Z")
Are you sure they didn’t have a green arrow? Were you behind them, or across the intersection from them? ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/19 "2009-07-06T04:28:44Z")
Oops…sorry about the language above, I thought I was in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024/20 "2009-07-06T04:29:38Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > One reason you might be seeing people turning left on Red Lights in Georgia lately, is because it is actually not currently against the law. The law making left turns on red illegal was recently struck down by the Georgia Supreme court. A cop actually can’t ticket you right now, or if he does it will get thrown out in court. > > We have to wait till the next meeting of the Georgia general assembly in order for them to create a new Red Light law. > > I heard about this about two to three weeks ago from my friend who (at the time) was in the Police Academy in Clayton County. I just did a quick Google search (since I know someone will yell CITE?) and [here](http://minx.cc/?post=288334) is the first page I found. Except that that cited article doesn’t support the notion that you can turn left when the light is red. Rather, it appears that you are allowed to turn left into any lane of traffic, rather than into the leftmost lane of traffic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-turn-left-on-red-lights/502024.md?page=2)