Today's rant will be the first of many to deal with stupid or inconsiderate drivers. It seems like the DC area has an especially large number of idiot drivers, so I know I'll have plenty to rant about.
Today's rant has to do with making a right turn on red.
Making a right turn on a red light is legal in all 50 states and DC (except in New York City), but drivers must come to a full stop and yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and traffic with the green light. The idea is simple -- if there's no traffic coming and you can safely make a right turn, you shouldn't have to wait for a green light.
The DC suburbs and especially northern Virginia are notorious for heavy traffic at just about any time of the day or night. During rush hour, this often means stop-and-go traffic on major thoroughfares, and frequently this leads to traffic backing up across an intersection. If a driver can see that the traffic is backed up on the other side of an intersection, the proper and courteous thing to do is to stop before entering the intersection, even if he/she has a green light, until there is enough room for the driver to get completely across the intersection on the other side.
Now if you are sitting at an intersection waiting to make a right turn on red, and I am approaching from your left with a green light but I stop before entering the intersection because the traffic is stopped on the other side, THIS DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT OF WAY TO MAKE YOUR RIGHT TURN IN FRONT OF ME!! You must still YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY to traffic with the green light! When traffic starts to move again, I have the right to take that spot, not you! Plus by sneaking your way out and stealing MY spot in the traffic parade, I either end up stopping in the middle of the intersection or I have to sit and wait some more, where I could end up missing the change of the light or worse yet, have another impatient right-turn-on-red-maker jump out in front of me!
This scenario has happened to me more times than I can count. Not only does rude behavior like this lead to more gridlock, but it also creates even more rude and aggressive drivers! Now because of this rampant tactic of people trying to cut in whenever they can, I find that I'm less likely to stop before the intersection even if it means blocking part of the intersection. People just need to learn take their turn and try to be a little more patient. I know waiting your turn sucks, especially during rush hour when you're already late, but if everyone could just try to show a LITTLE more courtesy, the roads would be so much more pleasant.
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So, tell us how you really feel? :->
"THIS DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT OF WAY TO MAKE YOUR RIGHT TURN IN FRONT OF ME!!"
I AGREE 100%. I can't stand it when I do the "RIGHT" thing by LAW not to block the intersection, but then when the traffic starts moving, the person in front of me that is turning right or is at a stop sign suddenly thinks "This stop sign or red light is invisable now." They STILL have the red light and STOP sign so, if the traffic starts moving, then they will just have to sit there. The people on the roadway that don't have a red light or stop sign, by law, have "RIGHT OF WAY."
I absolutely hate it when people act like they are suppose to go in front of you when the light is green or the people in front of me want to be so rude as to "STILL STOP" to let 2 people in at a "GREEN" light, when green means GO, NOT STOP.
"I find that I'm less likely to stop before the intersection even if it means blocking part of the intersection."
That is WRONG of you, by law and morally. You CAN'T expect someone not to do that if you do. Do the right thing even though you are one of the ONLY people that do, do it. I don't do that to people, so WHY make people that don't do that to people suffer, just for some mean people that are inconsiderate?
I HATE when people say "It's COURTEOUS" to let someone in from a gas station or stop sign. It's NOT COURTEOUS, it's BLOCKING TRAFFIC and BREAKING THE LAW as well as NOT considering ALL THE PEOPLE in the line AFTER you. It's ONLY thinking of that one person coming out, NOT ANYONE ELSE that would like to make the green light. I NEVER let people in from a stop sign or gas station unless they choose to cut in front of me, then I have NO CHOICE. They are suppose to "STOP" or "YIELD" to me if I am on the main road without a stop or yield sign.
I also hate when people honk on me when people are coming and I'm doing the right thing by actually YIELDING like the sign says I'm suppose to. People really are MEAN today.
"but drivers must come to a full stop."
MOST DON'T and I've had a person behind me honk just because I came to a complete stop before turning right, HOW RUDE!
"if there's no traffic coming and you can safely make a right turn, you shouldn't have to wait for a green light."
By law, if you stay at the red light and you can SAFELY turn right on red, you would be BLOCKING traffic if you stayed until the green. I have honked at people that just sit at the red when I can see for SURE that it's clear when I want to turn right, if there is no sign that says I can't turn right on red.
I can't believe there's someone that agrees with me about when you don't block the intersection, but the traffic starts moving, that the person at the red light STILL HAS TO YIELD, but they DON'T a LOT of the times. It's NOT FAIR, it's really NOT.
Thanks for your comments, Springs1! Just to clarify some points...
When I said I am now less likely to do the right and courteous thing and try not to block the intersection, my point was to show how widespread discourteous behavior can lead to more discourteous behavior and even road rage. I will still normally wait to enter an intersection if traffic isn't moving, but if I see there is someone waiting to turn right in front of me and they seem like they are inching up and might try to sneak out in front of me, I'll make sure I race across the instant I see any signs of movement from the traffic ahead. If I'm in a really bad mood, I may even sit in front of the guy trying to turn on red until I see the person behind me coming through the intersection. :)
I also wanted to raise a point about letting people out from stop signs, driveways, etc. These are very different from traffic lights -- at a traffic light, the cross traffic will always get their turn so there is no reason anyone needs to be so impatient that they have to make a right turn on red when there is other traffic (with the green light) waiting to come across the intersection when there is room. But if traffic is backed up past a busy driveway (like a gas station) or an intersection where the cross traffic has a stop sign, there may NEVER be an opportunity for the person on the side street or driveway to pull out without any traffic in their way. In these cases I will let people out in front of me IF I am already stopped due to the traffic flow. The same goes for people coming towards me who want to turn left into a business or onto a side street... if the traffic in front of me is stopped, I am glad to leave room so the person coming towards me can make their left turn.
Finally, when I said "if there's no traffic coming and you can safely make a right turn, you shouldn't have to wait for a green light" I used the word "shouldn't" because I was trying to describe the intent of the law. Saying "you don't have to wait" would have been more accurate. However, even though you are allowed to make a right turn on red, I'm not so sure that you MUST. Some people may not feel comfortable making a right turn on red in certain situations. However, I agree that you SHOULD proceed if it's safe to do so, and I too have honked to remind people that they can turn on red -- mostly to remind them to pay attention to traffic rather than their kids, the radio, their cell phone conversation, their makeup, or whatever.
Be sure to stop back again this week for another traffic-related rant (unless something more urgent comes along to rant about)!
“There may NEVER be an opportunity for the person on the side street or driveway to pull out without any traffic in their way.”
When the light is “RED”, ONLY THEN, do I accept. When the light is GREEN, that means GO, so it’s VERY DISCOURTEOUS to let someone in at a green light. I have had situations where I went FURTHER NOT to pull in front of people, to get in the BACK of the line essentially, which is how it SHOULD BE. I have had situations where I was BLOCKED because the person needed to go into the LEFT lane instead of the RIGHT lane that they were BY LAW are SUPPOSE to go into FIRST. They end up making a wide turn, by blocking the person that let that person in acrossways. So, it's NOT FAIR for EVERYONE to be blocked for 7 seconds or more, which I HAVE been. I also hate it when people act like they have right-of-way by trying to pull out as if I am suppose to let them in when it's green when "THEY" have the stop sign, NOT me. If it wasn't a law to go when the light turns green, I'd be MORE WILLING to let someone in at a stop sign or yield sign if they stay BEHIND the stop sign instead of OVER it to block me so I end up HAVING TO let them in instead of staying BEHIND the stop sign, which is the law by the way.
It’s still BLOCKING traffic if you let them in, so by you doing that, it is ILLEGAL, even at a red light.
If you leave someone in at a green light, you are making EVERYONE BEHIND you be blocked. One time, a man stupidly stopped a little ahead of the intersection at a right-turn only lane. There is two lanes going the same direction. There is a gas station there and this INCONSIDERATE person BLOCKED the WHOLE LANE because of this person that let this person in, and we had to wait the ENTIRE LIGHT and then some as far as waiting for traffic to move so the person could go in the lane to go STRAIGHT. I say that’s WRONG and VERY INCONSIDERATE to let someone in at a right-turn only lane, even if the light was red, because that person that was let in BLOCKED EVERYONE BEHIND this person that let that person in.
“However, even though you are allowed to make a right turn on red, I'm not so sure that you MUST.”
You would be BLOCKING traffic if you stay when it’s clear, the light is red, and there is no sign that states you can’t turn on red. So, by law, you HAVE to turn right on red ONLY if it’s clear.
“I may even sit in front of the guy trying to turn on red.”
You are BLOCKING the intersection. Even if the light is green for you, it’s still ILLEGAL to block an intersection at ANY TIME.
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