I’m on a road trip at the moment (hence this missed Ping) and there’s one thing I do back home I’ve noticed other people aren’t doing in traffic. Do you play trombone while driving? No… wait.
Let’s say you approach an intersection with a green light and you’re turning left. There’s a left turn lane. When you approach the intersection, do you stay behind the white line of the turn lane, or go past it into the intersection itself?
I always go into the intersection; that’s how I learned to drive and it’s definitely how people drive in Chicago. But in the south I’ve seen many people not do this and just stay behind the line. They may still turn when they have the opportunity, but if that passes, they’ll need to wait for the next light.
Posted in Everyday Life
Dave Walls July 14, 2010, 6:44 am
Unless I’m 100% certain I’m turning before the light goes green, no way. I’m behind the line.
Depending on where you are, I’ve seen plenty of red light cameras go off for people who are past the line turning left when the light goes red. I’d rather wait a light cycle than pay.
dissident July 14, 2010, 1:36 pm
That sounds blasphemous, I thought the driver’s ed book taught us to stay behind the line. Sometimes I don’t brake fast enough, end up a little into the intersection, and then chicken out when the light turns yellow, and then when it’s the other lane’s turn, they have to scooch over left… But who am I to judge, I don’t care about stop signs.
Ryan July 18, 2010, 3:14 pm
I like to turn left from the right turn lane.
Actually, I usually do what Paul does unless it’s at a particularly crowded intersection that also has a left-turn-only light. In that case, rather than possibly end up stranded in the middle of the road when the other people’s light turns green, I’ll wait.