When you are able to turn right on red, do you?

I do unless I am thinking about something and forget.

You say “potayto” and I say “potahto.”

HELL YEA I DO!

Yes. However, sometimes if I’m in an unfamiliar city and don’t know the rules about right turns on red, I’ll wait just to make sure I’m not breaking a traffic reg.

Absolutely. It drives me crazy when other people don’t – when no one is coming, of course. What are they afraid of?

you must be observing drivers from NYC . . .

I do turn right after making a full stop on red light whenever safely possible, granting that it is legal to do so and there is no pedestrian at the crosswalks.

@worriedguy I feel the same way.

Some states still do not have the law allowing a driver to “turn right on red, after stop”. this may be the reason. one out of state driver, not having this law in their state, is still abiding by their own state law and not making the turn. i see this all the time. bottomline is all the states are not together on the turn right on red, after stop law. next time you observe this, check the license plate on this vehicle. its probably from another state.

@john65pennington I was hoping you’d answer this question, thanks!

everyone breaks the law on this one….most people don’t stop and then turn right! NOT ME…would never do that…John might be watching!

Assuming A) I can see enough of the road to verify no one is coming from the left or ahead of me B) I have in fact verified that, C) the rows are not slick with ice or snow, then yes, I do turn on Red when legally allowed to do so.

I don’t know about the laws in other states, but I do know that NYC is the reverse of the rest of NYS. In NYC, you are not allowed to turn right on red unless there is signage specifically allowing it. In the rest of the state, you are allowed unless there is signage specifically forbidding it.

I rarely ever see anyone not turn right on red where it is allowed. In fact I see a lot of people who ignore or don’t notice “no turn on red” signs and turn on red anyway. Unless there are a lot of drivers from places where turning on red is illegal, or maybe the intersection in question makes it difficult to see traffic from the left, I can’t imagine more than a handful of people not turning on red. I certainly turn right on red when I can, but there is one intersection that I come to frequently where I will not turn on red because there’s a blind curve right before the intersection from the left and no way to see if it’s actually safe to proceed.

In my small town in NYS, there is one stop light only – at the major intersection. The signs allow turning on red only on week-ends and before and after business hours (8:00 AM to 6:00 PM) during the week.

If there is no “No Turn On Red” then I wait until it’s clear, and I turn.
If I’m in the city, I’ll get honked and screamed at if I don’t turn right on red, or even left on red. Scary.

@gailcalled That’s interesting.

@gailcalled could understand that in a big city…is interesting!

@erichw1504: We also know where the two policemen hide in order to catch people breaking the 30 MPH speed limit.

A traffic jam here consists of three cars on the road followed by a truck filled with logs.

Risky business is not letting a pick-up truck driven by a teen-ager pass you at night.

@BoBo1946 Ours is like that, outside the city, mainly around schools.

work working a storm in North Carolina..hurricane! In a very remote area, did not come to a complete stop, and a policewoman was behind the bushes…gave me a ticket! Plus, it was early in the morning and no traffic in the area. But, got’cha!!!!

I don’t want to tick off the driver behind me! Of course I do, and I cuss the ones who don’t. My mild mannered facade quickly slips in the presence of stupid drivers

@casheroo can understand that, but in a small town…seems a waste of time!

@BoBo1946: In a really small town, we know and recognize almost everyone; and we also recognize their car and usually know where they live. So good manners is the prime directive.

Not unless there is a sign allowing just that.

@ragingloli where do you live, if I might ask? Is the law in your area really “only allowed if there is a sign”?

I turn right on red as often as possible. I have to remind myself to check state laws before I travel so I don’t accidentally break the law.

@MrItty
Germany. And yes, there is a small sign, a green arrow pointing to the right I think, right next to the red light of the traffic light, that indicates that you can turn right when it is red, given that you come to a stop at the traffic light to verify that you do not interfere with the rest of traffic, which has priority over you.

maybe this” will help you decide.

Of course. I’m not waiting around when I can legally make a turn.

If you think that’s hard, imagine being in my city, where you can turn left on red if it’s a one way street to a one way street.

@gailcalled certainly understand as I live in a small town also. So small, that everyone knows the policemen by name!

@Judi I know exactly how you feel. I think I’m normally a pretty polite person, but forget it when I’m behind the wheel…

@wundayatta you can do that in NY as well.

Yup, when there’s a stoplight. In our lil town, there’s only one stoplight, and that one blinks! : ))

yep. ive noticed the same thing too.

I once got pulled over for turning left on a red light from a one way street onto another one way street. I had to prove to the officer it was legal. He was new to our state and somehow didn’t know it was ok to to this.

always.

I even turn left on red on a one way… why wouldn’t you?

I always do. It’s a waste of fuel and wasting the time of others behind me if I don’t.

I always turn on red and about once a year I get stuck behind someone who insists on waiting for the green. All other forms of driving miscues drive me insane but for some reason I just calmly wait it out figuring that driver has something going on that is preventing them from taking a right on red and happens so infrequently I just accept it as the price of driving.

I always do (even though in most countries in Europe the traffic rules are different and a lot more specific).

I guess people who don’t simply don’t know that they’re allowed to turn, or may think it’s risky. They are waiting for the big red light. It’s quite confusing to turn when a light is red, I think it’s sort of subconscious, you don’t trust the knowledge as much as you trust your instincts that red=danger.

Personally I even go through red lights where I am now, because the roads are completely empty and there’s no car coming from any direction.

I’ve also seen a fight at a traffic light in Austria, when the woman in front refused to turn on red and the driver behind her kept blowing his horn and explained that she should go. She knew that she was allowed to do it, but simply refused, and said she wanted to wait until both lights were green (that particular spot had two lights, one for turning and one for going straight, and they were synchronised only half the time).

You should come to a complete stop, and wait until it is clear, then you can go. Or you could do what I did and just go straight through (IT WAS CLEAR!) and get yelled at by your Dad (I still have my permit).

Yes. I always do.

I live in a big city. There’s no time for people who have to wait for green. You’ll get eaten alive. You just can’t do that in a place like San Francisco.

I hated driving in San Francisco. I would always get stuck at a red light on a steep hill, then had to jam on the gas pedal when the light turned green to avoid sliding backward.

@DominicX If I was at the corner waiting to make a right turn, how is it that I will be eaten alive if I waited for a green light to make the right turn?

Actually, I have, on some occasions, intentionally waited for a green light before making a doable red-light right turn when other drivers were honking, flashing lights and raising their hands to gesture me to move, simply because I CAN! . . . and they can’t do anything about it.

Hey @Cruiser, you probably were driving behind me during those times . . next time maybe we can get a drink or two . . .

@BoBo1946: One of the patrolmen, a young guy, got me for speeding in the parking lot of the market. After going to traffic court twice (I did see many of my friends), and pleading guilty to a non-moving violation in order to keep points off my insurance, I was allowed to pay double the original fine ($150). It is how the town keeps their budget up.

I then learned from a good buddy that she had taught this kid when he was in ninth grade here; he was famous then for hot rodding around and going well over the speed limit. Damned if I know what the moral of this story is.

Because there are so many tourists here, and so many people from other countries, most intersections have a “Right on red after stop” sign.

It’s ignored almost as often as the “U-Turn Yield to Right Turn” sign.

Jackass drivers. I hate it.

@gailcalled lmao….....got’cha!

Got my first ticket in 7 years this summer. Had two court appearances and still pending. It was a school zone near my mom’s house that has no flashing lights and school has just started and had lot on my mind (having to put my mom in assisted care home at the time) and did not realize school had started, and btw, the school is approx. 500 yds from the road…no danger to the kids and other than a school is here, no real purpose. Anyway, told the policeman that i did realize school had started…he did not want to hear it! No warning…he wrote me up! The fine is $189! Will keep posted on the outcome.

Since that event, wrote our major a letter about the flashing lights. Just got something back from him and they are installing flashing lights this spring. Hooray!! Too late for me, but maybe someone else will benefit from it!....some good came out of the deal.

@BoBo1946 ; Wow, when I got a ticket under similar circumstances I just did the traffic school and paid the fine.
My first husband could charm his way out of any ticket.
I have never been able to. I seem to get one about every 5–10 years.

@Judi by doing that, does that keep it off your record? well, for insurance purposes!

In California it stays off your record if you go to traffic school. You can do traffic school once every 18 months.

@Judi will check it out here! Thank you Judi!

Most people do the right thing, and stop on the red, and turn right when safe to do so, even if against the red.

Some people stop. And then stay stopped. They’re idiots.

And then there is an even lower level of idiocy: Those who stop at lights displaying green right turn arrows (instead of just keeping on going, like they’re supposed to). That is so dangerous, and these wastes of life think they’re being safer.

@Kraigmo Yes, it’s dangerous because you have people behind them who might try to pull around, in their impatience. I’ve seen this.