Driving pet peeves

Note that there are exceptions, like in Oregon where it's legal to pull into an intersection and wait to turn left on a flashing yellow turn signal.
But we're also allowed to turn left on red from a two way road into a one way, so maybe this state is just screwy.

 

I watched a truck receive a ticket for using that left turn lane and not turn left. That lane has specific rules attached to it (not to be used for passing is a big one, not to be used for merging is another (but sometimes ignored)).
Good YouTube video of a lady using that lane as you described, when a legitimate head-on left-turn guy shows up. She blocks him. A stalemate between the two ensues, she gets mad and calls the cops (from her driver's seat). SHE gets the citation for illegal use of that lane.

I get "irritating pet-peeves" about all of the stupid drivers on the road now days. I do and I've got a bucket load of them.
But I will NOT ever fault somebody for obeying the law and driving properly. even when I don't obey (I speed)

 

I'd double check that "waiting in an intersection" actually being in the regs. I haven't ever seen that specifically called out (only the opposite).
That would sure grate against the firetruck and ambulance drivers if it's there.

 

Hm i guess I stand corrected, i was under the impression it was allowable to use that lane to turn left into, and wait for a spot to merge into traffic. In that case I'll have to recalibrate my frustrations lol. the intersection I refer to is a 3 way, so the only traffic that would use it is the lane you'd be merging into after turning left, so the oncoming traffic wouldn't be an issue, and if you already made the left turn, you'd be ahead of traffic behind you using it.

idk if that explains it. Think this image but without that intersecting road on the right, and the left intersecting road is 2-way.

 

I was taught to leave lots of room so when you get rear ended you don't get pushed into the car in front of you. Not more than 1 car length, though.

 

Yep same, that’s why I mentioned that it only annoys me when it’s 2 or 3 or more car lengths.

 

It's legal in Missouri, and a whole bunch of other states, and illegal in others.

https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=300.215

I thought it was advised in Michigan, but google says it's illegal. It's definitely on a state-by-state basis.

 

Not true. Perfectly legal in Texas, and often the only way to be able to get a left turn opportunity.

 

Seems it is legal in California also, so my frustrations are valid lol.

https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-code/veh-sect-21460-5/

annoying it's a state by state thing though. I definitely foresee myself getting into trouble with this one day in a different state lol.

 

NO WHERE in that link does it say you can STOP within the intersection.
It simply says how to turn left in various intersection circumstances.

Granted, it doesn't point out that stopping is illegal (and there would be a great spot to put it) but it also doesn't say that you can (or should).
Keep digging and you'll find paragraphs specifically stating that there is no stopping in intersections. You'll also find one that say there is No Parking in intersections (so as not to be confused).

 

Texas is where I went through Driver's Ed in high school. Absolutely illegal.

It is practiced everywhere. but that doesn't make it legal nor proper.

 

Not true. I’ll copy the text of the law when I have time. It is listed as a specific exception to another rule.

 

In the link you sent, I didn't find it saying you could stop in the intersection. Do you see it saying that?
It IS annoying that states can have diff rules. (Not this one, so far.) Yeah, a cop on the ball could make a lot of money for his jurisdiction.

 

This is the part I understood to mean you are allowed to wait there to merge into traffic. It does kind of leave it open to interpretation though.

(c) A vehicle shall not be driven in a designated two-way left-turn lane except when preparing for or making a left turn from or into a highway or when preparing for or making a U-turn when otherwise permitted by law, and shall not be driven in that lane for more than 200 feet while preparing for and making the turn or while preparing to merge into the adjacent lanes of travel.

So as long as you aren't cruising in there for more than 200 feet while attempting to merge (or make your left turn), it seems the law should allow for it.

 

Cool. I'd like to see it.
I'm not in TX much anymore, but I was last Oct. I specifically asked an Abilene Marshal about this very subject. He confirmed for me that it is illegal, it is in the regs, and it pisses him off that some of the city cops are not reading those regs.


Edit: I figured I'd expound a bit about the city cops.
The Marshalls get called to back-up the city cops routinely. My Marshall friend doesn't mind that, but he says it's embarrassing and ridiculous when he shows up only to find that the city cop is in the wrong and he has to side with the "bad guy".
All because the city cop doesn't know the law (obviously a particular part of the law, they know most of it). --not talking left turns here!-- Just weird, other traffic stops where the Marshalls shouldn't have been called and wouldn't have been, if the city cop had only read the regulations.
The Marshalls are the key LEO for the courts, so my friend sees the legal jargon side of arrests. He has to know the regs inside & out.

 

It's called permissive yellow and same as turning from the left turn suicide lane, it varies by state.

I think NY doesn't allow it, who knows about the rest.

 

One truly has to read what is written, when it comes to regs.
That paragraph concentrates on the "turn lane". You won't see any turn lane painted inside an intersection. (Yes, you find centerline dashes sometimes, cuz dumb shits can't stay on their side of the turn, but NO turn lanes.)
So, you stay in the turn lane until you can safely complete the turn "all the way through the intersection". That's what I said in the beginning.

I do understand why your sentence in bold can mislead. In fact, I'm now wondering if "adjacent lanes of travel" is meant to represent travel in the opposite direction and that sentence is for the U-turn guy. Would you consider perpendicular as adjacent?

 

Permissive yellow means you can cross oncoming traffic (when clear) under a yellow light, but you have to do so from the stop line, not from the middle of the intersection.

 

If you visit a number of attorney's pages they all agree that it is legal, although researching it now, I can see why it is unclear. In fact the reason I am confident that it is legal, is that I heard a ruling related to it firsthand in a traffic case in Coppell.

The thinking is that, in order to turn left at an intersection, you must enter the intersection first before determining if it is safe to turn. If you commit to turning without first entering the intersection you may either a) not have a good view of oncoming traffic yet or b) have not been able to gauge the amount of time it has taken you to get to the point of turning (particularly in a large multi-lane intersection). For this reason, the law requires to make a left turn in 2 parts: 1) enter the intersection, and 2) turn when safe.

The code states:

Section 545.101 - Turning At Intersection
(a) To make a right turn at an intersection, an operator shall make both the approach and the turn as closely as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
(b) To make a left turn at an intersection, an operator shall:
(1) approach the intersection in the extreme left-hand lane lawfully available to a vehicle moving in the direction of the vehicle; and
(2) after entering the intersection, turn left, leaving the intersection so as to arrive in a lane lawfully available to traffic moving in the direction of the vehicle on the roadway being entered.

So you enter the intersection legally under 545.101, but are unable to proceed with the second step of turning if traffic is present.

545.302 does prohibit a driver from stopping in an intersection, but subsection (f) gives this exception:

(f) Subsections (a), (b), and (c) do not apply if the avoidance of conflict with other traffic is necessary.

544.007, then prohibits other drivers from entering the intersection even with a green light until the driver finishes the turn:

(b) An operator of a vehicle facing a circular green signal may proceed straight or turn right or left unless a sign prohibits the turn.  The operator shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles and to pedestrians lawfully in the intersection.

One additional note, is that once you enter the intersection and commit to the turn, you must complete it. It's illegal to back up, which I see many people do.

 

It just means you're allowed to be in the intersection when it's yellow/cross the stop line while it's not red.

Here's a trooper from Florida saying go ahead and do it, it's allowed...

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/l...-intersection-while-they-wait-to-make-a-turn/

So, same as I said above, it varies by state.