[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by desert_scene

Here is another thing you all need to watch out for. You know when you're making a left off of a major road, it's green but not an arrow so you wait for the oncoming traffic to clear. Well, if it turns red and you're still waiting in the intersection for the cars to clear, you'll get a ticket. But obviously you don't want to turn right into the oncoming cars and get broad-sided. Solution: Only approach the intersection on a green arrow, other than that wait behind the line for the next left turn arrow.

That is not correct. If you got a ticket for that the camera malfunctioned or the cop was wrong.

If there is no red left turn arrow you can go into the intersection and wait for the light to turn red and go ahead and make the left turn. It is not running a red light because you are blocking the intersection, you have to go to turn. At some intersections this might be the only possible way to make a left turn. It would be highly inefficient to not allow blocking the intersection LEFT turns on red. I have done this move with police officers behind me or at the intersection numerous times.

[New Horizons]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

That is not correct. If you got a ticket for that the camera malfunctioned or the cop was wrong.

If there is no red left turn arrow you can go into the intersection and wait for the light to turn red and go ahead and make the left turn. It is not running a red light because you are blocking the intersection, you have to go to turn. At some intersections this might be the only possible way to make a left turn. It would be highly inefficient to not allow blocking the intersection LEFT turns on red. I have done this move with police officers behind me or at the intersection numerous times.

Thank you for telling me that! My brother just got a ticket in the mail for this. He's taking it to traffic court.

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

That is not correct. If you got a ticket for that the camera malfunctioned or the cop was wrong.

If there is no red left turn arrow you can go into the intersection and wait for the light to turn red and go ahead and make the left turn. It is not running a red light because you are blocking the intersection, you have to go to turn. At some intersections this might be the only possible way to make a left turn. It would be highly inefficient to not allow blocking the intersection LEFT turns on red. I have done this move with police officers behind me or at the intersection numerous times.

Nah, desert scene is correct, you are not supposed to wait in the intersection to turn left, so blocking the intersection should never be an issue.

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by desert_scene

Thank you for telling me that! My brother just got a ticket in the mail for this. He's taking it to traffic court.

If you are in the intersection waiting to turn left and the light turns red while you are in the intersection and then you turn left, you can get a ticket, because you are not supposed to be waiting in the intersection to turn left.

[New Horizons]

Originally Posted by theredsnowman

If you are in the intersection waiting to turn left and the light turns red while you are in the intersection and then you turn left, you can get a ticket, because you are not supposed to be waiting in the intersection to turn left.

It's kind of a grey area there now that I'm reading articles on it. One FL cop in an article says it's legal as long as you're not approaching the intersection while it's yellow, thus speeding. Another article said that you shouldn't approach the intersection if you can't complete the turn. But who's to say the the oncoming cars didn't decide to gun it all of a sudden and make me wait. One thing is for certain, FL law says you are required to yield to those oncoming cars. Now that they are issuing camera citations for this, the DMV is going to have to make this situation clear and concise to everyone.

I think I'll just play it safe and go to the next available U-Turn, consuming more gas in the process.

[JM1822]

This would be a lot easier for me to explain if I could draw a picture, but I can't. It is legal to enter an intersection on a green light.

Think of an intersection governed by a traffic signal. Now draw a square so that the lines go through each of the four white "stop bars" on each section of the roadway. Everything in that box would be the actual intersection.

A green traffic light means that you may enter the intersection if it is safe to do so. If you are making a left turn on a "regular, round" green light, you may enter the intersection and wait for oncoming traffic to clear before you make your turn. If you are in the intersection and the light turns red, you are not in violation of the law because you have already entered the intersection. The only time you can be charged with running a red light is if your vehicle has not crossed the stop bar before the light turned red. Once you make it into the intersection (the box we drew earlier), the intersection belongs to you. If you are in the intersection waiting to make a left turn and the light turns green for cross traffic, they are required by statute to wait until you clear the intersection that you entered legally before they can go.

Hope this makes sense.

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by desert_scene

It's kind of a grey area there now that I'm reading articles on it. One FL cop in an article says it's legal as long as you're not approaching the intersection while it's yellow, thus speeding. Another article said that you shouldn't approach the intersection if you can't complete the turn. But who's to say the the oncoming cars didn't decide to gun it all of a sudden and make me wait. One thing is for certain, FL law says you are required to yield to those oncoming cars. Now that they are issuing camera citations for this, the DMV is going to have to make this situation clear and concise to everyone.

I think I'll just play it safe and go to the next available U-Turn, consuming more gas in the process.

It is a gray area in the sense that it is something everybody does and the police seem to ignore it, but it is not legal.

It is total nonsense that you received a ticket from a traffic camera; if anything should be illegal it should be those stupid traffic cameras.

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by JM1822

This would be a lot easier for me to explain if I could draw a picture, but I can't. It is legal to enter an intersection on a green light.

Think of an intersection governed by a traffic signal. Now draw a square so that the lines go through each of the four white "stop bars" on each section of the roadway. Everything in that box would be the actual intersection.

A green traffic light means that you may enter the intersection if it is safe to do so. If you are making a left turn on a "regular, round" green light, you may enter the intersection and wait for oncoming traffic to clear before you make your turn. If you are in the intersection and the light turns red, you are not in violation of the law because you have already entered the intersection. The only time you can be charged with running a red light is if your vehicle has not crossed the stop bar before the light turned red. Once you make it into the intersection (the box we drew earlier), the intersection belongs to you. If you are in the intersection waiting to make a left turn and the light turns green for cross traffic, they are required by statute to wait until you clear the intersection that you entered legally before they can go.

Hope this makes sense.

You are not supposed to wait in the intersection to turn left.

[FlyMIA]

Well if you are not supopse to wait no one in South Florida enforces it. INCLUDING the traffic cameras. Traffic cameras here will not or at least should not give you a red light ticket if you are in the intersection before the light turns red.

Take the ticket to court see what happens.

Again at least it is the case in Southeast Florida it is standard practice that at a circle green light making a left turn you can make a left turn by going into the intersection while the light is green and you can make the left turn after the light is red. I do not see how this can be illegal. Why?

There are many, many intersections around here at least which have a left turn lane but no left turn signal. If it was illegal to go into the intersection while the light is green (which makes no sense how it could be illegal) how in the world would people make a left turn at a busy intersection with out a turn signal without going into the intersection and turning left once the oncoming cars have stopped at red. It would make no sense. There would be no left turn lane if that was illegal. At least in South Florida no one including red light cameras to my knowledge give tickets for doing a blocking the intersection left turn. Have done it many many times with cops behind me doing the same thing or in front of me. City buses do it, every car does it. It makes traffic flow more effcient and at some intersections it is the only way to make a left turn.

I searched a bit and can't find any laws about it but at least in South Florida it is a normal practice. Red light cameras do not give tickets for those types of turns down here or I am confident I would have gotten one by now.

[BucFan]

Originally Posted by theredsnowman

Nah, desert scene is correct, you are not supposed to wait in the intersection to turn left, so blocking the intersection should never be an issue.

I agree. You're not supposed to enter the intersection unless it is clear - saw a story on the news the other day about this.