Antique & Classic Cars Blog

Whether the favor accorded right turns is perceived by the left-handed community as another in a string of indignities, I can’t say. But until lawmakers decide to make the two directions equal, right turns have priority. On a two-way road, the approaching car turning right has the right-of-way.

Unless there is a left-turn arrow, there is no left-of-way. Why? Because the left turner must cross in front of on-coming traffic, a potentially risky maneuver.

Many Twin Cities drivers assert the Wrong-of-Way, turning left along with right turners coming from the other direction. This is routine at places where a one-way road turns off a two-way one, like Park Avenue north or Portland Avenue south in Minneapolis at its junctions with any two-way cross street.

Left turners wade out into the left-most lane, assuming that the right turner will steer tight and stay right. But it’s not a foolproof prediction. The right turner may need to go left at the very next intersection or be heading to an address on the left side of the road. That driver needs to watch the road and parked cars and shouldn’t have to watch left turners barging into the way.

It’s clear why people do this–they’re in a rush, like we all seem to be–and they conclude that there’s plenty of room for them to sneak out too. Yet it’s still dangerous because it contradicts rule-abiding drivers’ expectations. Someone who lives here may anticipate left-turners plunging ahead, but what of the many visitors in rental cars or in from outlying areas for sporting events?

One bad habit breeds another. Because I don’t like to be crowded by a car not yielding the right-of-way to my turn, my inclination is to not signal, forcing the approach driver to stay put for fear I’ll drive straight into him or her.

Get lax with one rule and you start bending more of them. Pretty soon driving becomes a free-for-all and becomes more work than pleasure.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 10:45 am and is filed under Car stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.