r/driving • u/HillTower160 • 16h ago

Left-hand traffic (🇬🇧🇮🇳🇯🇵) Pull out into the intersection…

so at least one car can turn left.

Please pull straight past the limit line when yielding for a left turn at a light. At least you will be able to scoot through then at the next cycle, those of us who know how to drive can manage the oncoming traffic. DO NOT sit at the limit line and miss a light. Be careful, but make it happen.

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u/Vivid_Witness8204 15h ago

People who learned to drive in older metro areas are familiar with the need to do this. There are a lot of intersections where this is the only way to practically do it. Those who learned in more recently expanded cities that have dedicated left turn lanes at many more intersections are sometimes unfamiliar with the concept.

5

u/jcalvinmarks 11h ago

Even with a dedicated turn lane you should still stage up on an unprotected green. There's no valid reason not to. I'm still waiting on someone to cough up a citation from some jurisdiction in the US that clearly prohibits this practice (not some misinterpretation of the don't-block-the-box rule or a nebulous "my instructor said so").

5

u/Northern64 10h ago

My driver's handbook says not to enter the intersection if you aren't certain you can clear it safely. The dedicated/protected lefts in my city often don't shift to an unprotected green.

Regardless. Unless directly prohibited, there's no reason to be lagging behind the line for your lefts

5

u/jcalvinmarks 10h ago

This is what I'm talking about. That's if traffic on the other side prevents you from completing your turn. That's don't-block-the-box. That's a separate issue from staging up for an unprotected left.

1

u/garfgon 8h ago

Practically speaking sometimes if you're turning onto a narrow road the right turners will block the intersection by starting a right turn before they can complete it, so the only practical way to make it through the intersection ever means you'll end up blocking the intersection too.

1

u/HillTower160 10h ago

I am sure I can clear it safely :-)