Intersection

[sarasquirrel]

I hate my commute, but was reading another thread and it reminded me of this story.

theres this big intersection i go through just before i get to work.



i go from red, left onto light blue. if youre going left from red or from dark blue you get an arrow. if youre going left from light blue or green there is no green arrow

they should really have one.

almost everyday there are like 5 cars sitting in the angry yellow face waiting to turn, while I have my green arrow and cant go!

clearly there is a long distance for them to go to make their left turns...and yea i can see myself waiting maybe in the middle, but for 5 cars or so to do this all the time, means all of them are idiots

[Dips]

[ot]I enlarged the picture before reading the text and that angry yellow face was just so random and cute sitting there amongst the arrows that it made me giggle.[/ot]

Back on topic: There's an intersection near me where that happens too. I agree that it's very annoying to not be able to to turn because a bunch of people are trying be sneaky and squeeze through with the previous group of cars.

[infinitemonkies]

Maybe your area is different, but here we've got an obscure driving law which states it's illegal to enter an intersection unless you are able to get all the way through.

I say 'obscure' because very few drivers seem to know about it, and I've never seen or even heard of someone actually being ticketed for it.

[PepperElf]

they have the same laws in Virginia... and sections where they specify it.
mainly downtown cos sometimes you might have a green light but the traffic ahead of you doesn't so ... if you go anyway you end up blocking the intersection.

and in VA it's a $200 fine

[sarasquirrel]

guess its a law in CT

Drivers may not enter an intersection unless they can get through it without having to stop. You should wait until traffic ahead clears so that you are not blocking the intersection.

never seen anyone ticketed either

talking on a cell phone w/o a hands free device is against the law. yet every single day i see people driving and talking on their phone, and have yet to see anyone ticketed

[Kogarashi]

And there is a small exception for when you want to turn left, but have a regular green rather than a protected left (oncoming traffic also has the green). You can start pulling into the intersection so you can make the left turn at your safest convenience, but that doesn't mean you and the three to five idiots behind you should be blocking a huge intersection like that just because you're waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic.

I agree, sarasquirrel, they should put in green arrows at that intersection.

[wolfie]

Maybe your area is different, but here we've got an obscure driving law which states it's illegal to enter an intersection unless you are able to get all the way through.

I say 'obscure' because very few drivers seem to know about it, and I've never seen or even heard of someone actually being ticketed for it.

Couple things that can cause problems with that:

1. Traffic is heavy, and I'm waiting (not entered the intersection) for enough space to open up that I can clear the intersection, before I enter. Unfortunately, right-turns (and people from the left lane changing lanes in the intersection) eat up the space as it forms, so it never builds up to a big enough space for an 18 wheeler. The only way I can EVER move is to enter and hope the traffic starts moving before the light goes red.

2. Related to above. By some miracle, there's enough space for me to clear the intersection. Unfortunately, trucks with 20 tons of cargo don't accelerate very well. By the time I'm halfway into the intersection, a couple drivers in the other lane (or right-turners) have partially filled the space, so there's no longer enough space for me to clear the intersection (even though there was when I started moving). The safety director wouldn't like it if I pulled up to where the front of the space had been when I committed to entering the intersection.

[AriRashkae]

2. Related to above. By some miracle, there's enough space for me to clear the intersection. Unfortunately, trucks with 20 tons of cargo don't accelerate very well. By the time I'm halfway into the intersection, a couple drivers in the other lane (or right-turners) have partially filled the space, so there's no longer enough space for me to clear the intersection (even though there was when I started moving). The safety director wouldn't like it if I pulled up to where the front of the space had been when I committed to entering the intersection.

No, but I bet after a few times people would learn to stay well clear of a semi.

(Why, yes, I am feeling particularly evil today. )