U-turn on Red!? Seriously? (Washington: live in, law, dangerous)

[kutra11]

Since when did making a u-turn on a red light become a legal turn? It just infurtiates me when I see idiotic drivers doing this!


-K

[saganista]

Why? Did right turns on red used to infuriate you when they were illegal? Do they still? Assuming that a U-turning driver is making the turn safely, all he is really doing is getting himself out of the way of drivers behind him. How is that something to be infuriated over?

Moderator cut: Off-topic

Why would you be even mildly irritated about someone safely making a U-turn on red? Moderator cut: Off-topic

[kutra11]

Originally Posted by saganista

Why? Did right turns on red used to infuriate you when they were illegal? Do they still? Assuming that a U-turning driver is making the turn safely, all he is really doing is getting himself out of the way of drivers behind him. How is that something to be infuriated over?

Moderator cut: Off-topic

Why would you be even mildly irritated about someone safely making a U-turn on red? Moderator cut: Off-topic

You are arguing that (1) it is perfectly okay to break the law if it is broken safely, and (2) driving rules are worse in other countries, so it's okay to break a law here because people don't drive as bad here as they do in those countries!!

• "Officer, I know I was flying at 130 mph, but c'mon, there was no other car in front of me!"
  
• "Officer, you can't be serious about pulling me over for talking on my iPhone, texting on my Blackberry, reading the Washingtonian, and waxing my eyebrows while driving! I just returned from Kaliwazooee, and drivers there shoot pedestrians while driving!"

[dkf747]

I have done it on occasion. I know it's illegal, but on the road where I did it (not telling which road) there was a red arrow (not flashing) and no cars coming in any direction, and the wait for green was really long. So I just went. I wouldn't do it if other cars were there or if the wait was reasonable. If I get caught, I'll just pay the fine without fighting it.

[Alley01]

I have not seen the U-turn on red...yet. Probably will now. I think you have every reason to be angry about it. There are so many inconsiderate drivers that seem to make their own rules of the road. Sometimes I wish we were required to have driving tests and exams once a year. Because I have no idea where some people learned to drive and so far, I see some of the worst of it out here!

Not sure why some believe it isn't a big deal but there are rules of the road for a reason. Just because you don't get caught doesn't mean that it is okay to break them and potentially endanger those around you because you are in too big of a hurry. Why is it so difficult to just wait a couple minutes?

[saganista]

Originally Posted by Alley01

Not sure why some believe it isn't a big deal but there are rules of the road for a reason. Just because you don't get caught doesn't mean that it is okay to break them and potentially endanger those around you because you are in too big of a hurry. Why is it so difficult to just wait a couple minutes?

These are the same arguments as were made opposing laws allowing right-turns on red when those were first introduced. As we've seen since, there is actually nothing inconsiderate, dangerous, or antisocial about making a right-turn on red. They are easy to carry out safely. Thousands of people are no doubt doing just that right now. Is there some better case to be made against U-turns on red?

[kutra11]

saganista:

I live in NoVA and Moderator cut: Orphaned comment. Your justification for breaking the law if it does not harm anybody is downright appalling. No drunk or speeding driver who killed innocent victims ever got into the car thinking he/she was going to harm somebody.

Red means stop. Period. It does not mean use your common sense and decide whether you want to follow the traffic laws. It is not just the u-turn on red, but even making a right turn when it is not allowed on red is infuriating as well. At least in the latter case, the driver might have genuinely missed the sign. But in the former case, under no circumstance is straight, left or u-turn allowed on a red.

-K

[Teebyrd86]

What I love is when you are on a windy road that has a 35mph speed limit and double yellow lines, yet the person riding your tail behind you decides to pass you then pass every other car on the road as well going about 20 miles over, and then ends up at the red light futher up the street directly next to you. This unfortunatly happens to me a lot on a certain road I take to work. I was thankful to see a cop on that road today, I am not sure if it helped or not but I made it a point to call ffx county non emergency and tell them about this problem on this certain road.

[scottfs]

One serious danger of executing a u-turn on red is that it interferes with the ability of one making a right on red to see what is coming.

[need_more_light]

Originally Posted by saganista

These are the same arguments as were made opposing laws allowing right-turns on red when those were first introduced. As we've seen since, there is actually nothing inconsiderate, dangerous, or antisocial about making a right-turn on red. They are easy to carry out safely. Thousands of people are no doubt doing just that right now. Is there some better case to be made against U-turns on red?

Actually there is. So many times I almost hit drivers who don't look carefully before making a right turn on red. They did come to a full stop alright but they only look to their left, not in front of them where cars might be doing a left turn on GREEN. It happened to me multiple times at van dorn-franconia intersection. If people can't even make a right-turn on red safely, I highly doubt they'll be able to make a u-turn on red safely.