Traffic scenario, WWGRM do

The road leaving my neighborhood, intersecting with the main road at a red light, has two lanes.

The left lane is marked to go straight and to the left. The right lane is marked to go straight and to the right.

Leaving for work one morning I happened to be the first person to the light and had a lane choice. I was going straight. I staged in the left lane because I didn't want the traffic that may want to be turning right to be stuck behind me.

The light takes a while to turn so by the time it did there where a line of cars in each of the lanes.

The opposing traffic got their light first. Then the left turn only green arrow came on in my lane. I was going straight. I had three cars honking at me. The lady behind me was going ballistic. I motioned to her that I was going straight and she continued to lay on the horn and flip me off. Finally I got the green light and continued on my way.

Was I in the wrong?

My belief is that if the lanes are both marked to go straight then that intersection should not have a left turn arrow and the city is in the wrong for poor planning.

Sounds like poor planning.

Around here the only time you see a left turn arrow is when there is a dedicated left turn lane. Have a lot of intersections where the left lane is left turn only and the right lane is straight and right turn.

That's a screwy intersection. Either they need to make left lane a turn only or get rid of the left green arrow or have the green arrow lit only when the green light to go straight is lit.

Poor design. T.J. has it right.

Screwy intersection. I'd line up in the right lane next time and crowd the left edge to leave room for people to sneak by on the right if you can because if you are on a bike someone might run you over for holding them up. But, if you are in a truck... just park in the middle and berkeley everyone up just like all the people I'm behind at stop lights.

I do my best to be a real human on the road and not a shiny happy person. With that said I may have the moral high ground but continually realize I should "do unto others before they do unto me"..

Let them honk. Regardless of the light colour, you are ALWAYS responsible for assuring your clearance and if its not clear, you dont go~

I'm glad I'm not the only one to see it that way. BTW I was in the work truck of y previous job. I now turn left and leave a lot earlier so it's not usually an issue.

Another thing I had to learn that may be common in other areas but I had not seen prior to Texas is that just because your light turns red does not mean that the oncoming traffic light did as well.

In drivers ed my instructor taught us to "claim the intersection". Meaning that if you are waiting to turn left pull out into the intersection. If the traffic doesn't clear prior to the light changing and it turns yellow, you own that intersection, once oncoming traffic stops, proceed with your turn. It's worked like that in every place I have driven since then, except here. I found myself sitting out in the middle of an intersection with a red light and wondered why the oncoming traffic was not slowing down. Only looking behind me revealed they still had a green. I may have been given bad info by my instructor but like I said it has worked for me every where else but here.

There is a light at the base of my office park that is the same. I always get the urge to honk when people sit there at the green arrow, but they are going straight and they would be running a red light. I really wish that they would make it a Right Turn Only lane!

In the case of the turn arrow, that's just a dumb light and I'm not sure that there's any breech of ettiquite there. If it were a turn only lane, that'd be different .

As far as "claiming the intersection" I think the technical term for that is "failure to obey a traffic control signal". 'Round these parts, you are not supposed to enter the intersection if you cannot clear it before the light turns red. So if you're turning left and there is oncoming traffic, you wait behind the big white line and then go when you can make it safely across while the light is green. That is, of course, ignored by most of the drivers out there, but I blame piss-poor driving instruction for that.

Nick_Comstock wrote: I'm glad I'm not the only one to see it that way. BTW I was in the work truck of y previous job. I now turn left and leave a lot earlier so it's not usually an issue. Another thing I had to learn that may be common in other areas but I had not seen prior to Texas is that just because your light turns red does not mean that the oncoming traffic light did as well. In drivers ed my instructor taught us to "claim the intersection". Meaning that if you are waiting to turn left pull out into the intersection. If the traffic doesn't clear prior to the light changing and it turns yellow, you own that intersection, once oncoming traffic stops, proceed with your turn. It's worked like that in every place I have driven since then, except here. I found myself sitting out in the middle of an intersection with a red light and wondered why the oncoming traffic was not slowing down. Only looking behind me revealed they still had a green. I may have been given bad info by my instructor but like I said it has worked for me every where else but here.

re. the "own the intersection" … friend of mine, a retired claims adjuster has told me to do that … but a SHP has said NO … wait behind the line, make the turn when, A) I have the right of way, and B) when the traffic lets me …

the way I read those conflicting instructions, is one will get me exonerated in the case of a crash (money wise), and the other could get me a ticket … shrug

As a fifteen year old kid, being told that by a driving instructor, I took it as gospel. I have never been told otherwise until now.

This is the road leaving your neighborhood? So your neighbors are blowing their horns and flipping you off? Thats pretty berkeleyed up.

In reply to gearheadmb:

Yes, but it's a big neighborhood. And people are impatient.

In reply to Nick_Comstock: Well, everything is bigger in texas, especially the shiny happy people.

Sounds like a bad design, I would have done what you did in that situation.

I agree. Poor design. I think you're doing it right. Right lane should be left open for right turners. berkeley the impatient left turners.

You absolutely made the correct, legal, and safe decision at the time.

Like you mentioned, etiquette wise I would switch to the right lane next time. It's much easier to make a right turn, especially since you can usually do it on a red light, so you wouldn't be holding much up. Sometimes it's very difficult to make a left turn in a yield situation. So give the people in the left lane the benefit of a green arrow when they have the opportunity.

Contact the city. Ask them to change it. Maybe something will happen.