The Surprising History--and Deadly Consequences--of Right Turn on Red

[marmar]

The Surprising History—and Deadly Consequences—of Right Turn on Red

BY ABIGAIL WEINBERG
OCT 18, 20225:45 AM


(Slate) It’s an obsolete relic of the 1970s oil crisis. It’s dangerous to pedestrians. And, if you drive a car in the United States, you likely do it every day. It’s time to get rid of right turn on red.

If you roll up to a red light in a car in Europe, you have to wait for the light to turn green before taking a right—unless the posted signage says otherwise. In Great Britain, where drivers use the left side of the road, left turns on red are not permitted. But in the United States, drivers are generally permitted to turn right at a red light, if there’s a big enough gap in the traffic for them to squeeze into. In fact, you’re likely to get honked at if you don’t.

That freedom sounds like a good way to keep traffic moving. Still, sometimes drivers fail to yield to pedestrians who have the right of way in the intersection. The data on right-turn-on-red crashes might be scarce, but the existing studies suggest that these types of collisions—while rare—frequently involve a pedestrian or cyclist. Cars, instead of hitting other cars, often hit humans. Now, there’s a growing movement for cities to do away with the traffic law altogether.

In early October, the D.C. city council voted to ban right turn on red at most city intersections (and to allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs). If Mayor Muriel Bowser signs on and the bill receives Congressional approval, D.C. will become the second U.S. city after New York not to allow RTOR. D.C., which has struggled to curb traffic fatalities, hopes that ending RTOR will make its streets safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair users.

So, why do U.S. cities allow RTOR in the first place? Blame the oil crisis. ............(more)

https://slate.com/technology/2022/10/right-turn-on-red-oil-crisis-environment-dc.html

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. "After stop." NT

[Aristus]

5. That was the first traffic regulation I ever learned by heart.

I remember being four or so, and one of my parents driving my brother and sister and me through downtown San Antonio, and the three of us reciting in unison: "Turn right on red...AFTER STOP!" over and over. Must have driven my parents crazy.

[Phoenix61]

2. Sounds like a great way to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. nt

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. Let's don't and say we did (nt)

[underpants]

4. Left turn on red in Virginia (possibly elsewhere)

If you are on a one way street turning on to a one way street you can turn left on red.

Another problem with no gas cars is the lack of noise. The blind community has been lobbying for years to require some sort of sound mechanism being installed on electric or hybrid cars. A blind person may not be aware that a car is right there as they cross an intersection.

[intheflow]

9. Massachusetts, too. n/t

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. Right turn on red existed at least by the early 60s in some states.

I moved to Arizona that year, and it was already in place there.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. RTOR allowed except where posted works pretty well.

"No TOR" signs are posted in urban or otherwise pedestrian-likely areas.

There's no substitute for looking where you're going.

[unc70]

8. Slate article is misleading about Europe

The general prohibition of RTOR doesn't really solve the problems of intersections. Drive in France or Italy for a while and reflect on Priority to the Right. In the US, it is typically used at an always-stop or 4-way stop intersection. In Europe you often have no signs or other indication of priority. No requirement that anyone stop, and drivers don't! The locals have their own rules. And to make this game of chicken even more fun, have limited sight lines because buildings block your view of the other streets.

Another hazard in Europe, including GB, is the "phantom" roundabout or traffic circle with little or no circle or middle. Sometimes there is a tiny yellow disk; others, a sign indicating the situation. Oops! Is this a rotary or PttR?

The article mentions the Étoile and priority to the right but omits that there are also traffic lights, small ones way off to the side. Somehow it works.

[GoneOffShore]

11. "Priority to the Right' has pretty much gone away in France. Yes, it's still at Etoile in Paris,

But that's possibly only still there as a quaint anachronism. And there are villages where it still exists, but in the five years I've lived in France I've watched it slowly and surely disappear as 'Cedez le Passage' and 'Stop' signs, along with stop lines are being implemented.

Even the phantom rond points have yield signs.

[unc70]

12. Last drove in France, Italy before Covid

Most recently drove in southern France and in Puglia. Still had to deal with a lot of PttR then; seems like even in Nice. Interested in your perceptions about recent years. My first time driving in France was for over a month in 1975. Things have certainly changed since then.

Southern Italy feels more like the old days where you are left mostly on your own. Not many Stop signs or directional signs. GPS was also a challenge there. Each system I had (in car, iPhone, Google) kept identifying streets by numbers without the street or road names.

[GoneOffShore]

13. I drive into Marseille a couple of times a month and it's like driving in Philadelphia,

but without the guns.

Can't speak to Nice, because I seldom go there - terrible traffic, and it's been built up into a highrise hell. Drove in Torino and Genova recently without problems.

[intheflow]

10. Why do bicyclists get to treat stops like yield signs?

Ye Gods, that doesn't sound safer than full vehicle stop, then right on red. Many folks in my city already ride their bikes without any regard to bicycle safety: no helmets, riding against traffic on the opposite side of the road, weaving in and out of traffic stopped at lights, and blowing through red lights with the barest glance to see if any cars are coming. If anything, bicyclists should have MORE safety rules since they don't have a ton of metal and fiberglass surrounding them or airbags to deploy when they get hit. WTAF?