Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 11/6/2023 10:33 AM, NFN Smith wrote:
I saw this one turn up over the weekend...
https://apnews.com/article/red-light-turn-pedestrian-bicyclist-deaths-7f5bdee9c7b3f4cbf005f1844f486123
I understand right turns on red are generally illegal in Europe. There
are many more pedestrians there; perhaps that's part of the reason.
It's definitely an American thing.
My understanding is that it originated during World War II, as a way of
trying to enhance fuel conservation (same kind of thing as Daylight
Saving Time).
I don't know how widely it was used, or if some places expired at the
end of the war, but I know that growing up in California, it was always
a standard. I believe that there was expansion of use during the Fuel
Crisis of the 1970's, and where most places that started using have kept
it since.
In the US, New York is known for not having that, and a close reading of
the article notes that. I know also that there was a Woody Allen film
where Allen's character suggests that the only cultural advantage of
California (presumably, over New York) is being able to make a right
turn on red.
Something that is similar is that I've seen places where a yellow light
facing one way causes signals facing the other way to show both red and
yellow simultaneously. In the US, I've seen that in Boston, and I know
it common in the parts of England I've been in. I believe that the
intent is that the expectation (if not legal requirement) that a car
sitting at a stop light is out of gear, and where the parking brake has
been engaged. That, of course, assumes manual transmissions. With the red-yellow combo, that alerts drivers to engage the transmission, and to
be ready to take off the parking brake. I can't imagine right on red
(or in the UK, left on red) being permitted in those circumstances.
Smith
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