Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
this is how i took the initial question. if there is a separate right turn light, then i believe that you cant go if it is red. i cant say that i can recall the last time i encountered this in nj.
I have only seen one. It’s fairly new and has a great deal of people confused.
Unless there are signs stating otherwise, you can make the turn on red if you have determined it is safe/okay to do so. Try not to pay attention to the idiots behind you honking and waving their arms though. This kind of immature, attention seeking behavior doesn't deserve acknowledgement.
what does that mean that you dont have to? of course you have to. if you have every legal right to go, then you have to go unless it is somehow unsafe (or some other legitimate reason). you cant just sit there because you prefer not to turn right on red.
While I agree that everyone should make the turn on red (when permitted and safe to to so) there are people who just refuse to do so for whatever reason (even if the coast is clear) and I've never seen or heard of anyone being charged for NOT making a right on red when they obviously should. It's never enforced and even if the person was stopped or ticketed they could say they didn't feel safe in making the turn, etc. and never have a consequence for not turning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by janet bubby
Unless there are signs stating otherwise, you can make the turn on red if you have determined it is safe/okay to do so. Try not to pay attention to the idiots behind you honking and waving their arms though. This kind of immature, attention seeking behavior doesn't deserve acknowledgement.
I don't think the majority of people doing it are seeking attention.....rather, they're on their way to work, school, etc. and are attempting to get a slow moving or hesitant driver to get moving rather than sit idle impeding progress when the turn can & should be made. And, from personal experience 9 times out of 10 it's either very old drivers or ones of certain ethnic groups (specifically Asian or Indian) who sit and will not turn.
Yes I’ve noticed this. Asians never turn right on red. African Americans tend to do rolling stops and make right turns. Mexicans just zoom through the light but that’s ok cause they are riding bicycles. White people of course always make a full stops �� prior to the cross walk then look both ways and proceed to execute a proper safe legal turn.
this is how i took the initial question. if there is a separate right turn light, then i believe that you cant go if it is red. i cant say that i can recall the last time i encountered this in nj.
CaptainNJ. You figured out what I am asking. I am talking about the separate right turn light. We have one right in our town of Monroe. It's a separate cutoff on the right with it's own traffic light. I assume it was put there because they do not want drivers to turn right unless that separate traffic light is green. This is where I get honked at all the time. I just sit there and think what a dumb ass is behind me. I am not trying to **** anyone off; I just don't want to get a ticket for running a red light.
Sometime the right lane has an arrow light. When it’s red you cannot turn right.
This is false. In case you didn't read luckyram's links, I've pasted the language from the actual regulation below. Note that there is no exception to b when the stop signal is an arrow.
39:4-115. The driver of a vehicle or the motorman of a streetcar: a. intending to turn to the right or left at an intersection where traffic is controlled by traffic control signals or by a traffic or police officer, shall proceed to make either turn with proper care to avoid accidents and, except as provided in b. below, only upon the "go" signal unless otherwise directed by a traffic or police officer, an official sign or special signal; or b. intending to turn right at an intersection where traffic is controlled by a traffic control signal shall, unless an official sign of the State, municipality, or county authority having jurisdiction over the intersection prohibits the same, proceed to make the turn upon a "stop" or "caution" signal with proper care to avoid accidents after coming to a full stop, observing traffic in all directions, yielding to other vehicular traffic traveling in a direction in which the turn will be made, and stopping and remaining stopped for pedestrians crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk, or at an unmarked crosswalk, into which the driver is turning. Both the approach for and the turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, unless such intersection is otherwise posted.
This is false. In case you didn't read luckyram's links, I've pasted the language from the actual regulation below. Note that there is no exception to b when the stop signal is an arrow.
No.....I posted the turn law at right on red for red signals.....the rule for arrow signals, etc has it's own separate language/statute. Apologies to OP for the confusion but here's your answer.
Here's the actual NJ law controlling it:
39:4-116. Special right or left turn
Special right or left turn movements may be provided when approved by the director at intersections where traffic is controlled by traffic control signals, by incorporating an additional lens in the signal. This additional lens shall be a green arrow lens and shall designate the special right or left turn movement by the direction of the arrow.
When a green arrow lens is incorporated in a traffic control signal and the signal is operating to control traffic at an intersection, vehicles shall make turning movements in the direction of the arrow only when the lens is illuminated.
That means: No turn on red arrow, only on green arrow.
No.....I posted the turn law at right on red for red signals.....the rule for arrow signals, etc has it's own separate language/statute. Apologies to OP for the confusion but here's your answer.
Here's the actual NJ law controlling it:
39:4-116. Special right or left turn
Special right or left turn movements may be provided when approved by the director at intersections where traffic is controlled by traffic control signals, by incorporating an additional lens in the signal. This additional lens shall be a green arrow lens and shall designate the special right or left turn movement by the direction of the arrow.
When a green arrow lens is incorporated in a traffic control signal and the signal is operating to control traffic at an intersection, vehicles shall make turning movements in the direction of the arrow only when the lens is illuminated.
That means: No turn on red arrow, only on green arrow.
This regulation is for when there is an additional lens, a green one. There is specifically not a red arrow lens in this situation.
Eh. The bigger problem is people turning right on red when they should not. I've seen plenty of people ignore a 'No Turn on Red' or 'No Turns' sign. Also, people don't seem to understand the concept of yielding to pedestrians, and the concept that the cars on the opposite side of the intersection, who are making left turns specifically with a green arrow light, have the right of way over your right turn.
I almost blew right through a 'No Turn on Red' sign once (low hanging tree branch). But I saw it at the last minute and did stop to wait for the green. Guy behind me was honking his head off. At first, I didn't blame him, because if I could barely see the 'No Turn on Red' sign, then he certainly couldn't see it from further back, behind me. But my patience eventually ran out and I flipped him off. He went angrily around me, screaming 'LEARN HOW TO DRIVE' out the window. Stealth cop came peeling out of the school parking lot across the street to chase him down. Glad I saw the sign, because I had no idea a cop was even there. That was a very satisfying driving day for me.
Anyway, there is a lot of legitimate confusion here. If so many people are unclear, that means the signage is poorly designed, and the regulations are written in an unclear and vague manner.
One thing to keep in mind, too, is that different states have different regulations; also, we live right outside NYC, where right turns on red are prohibited most of the time. Just because the car in front of you has Jersey plates doesn't preclude the possibility that the driver is from out of state. Plenty of people travel for business, are here visiting family, or have dual residences.
Also, as has been stated already on this thread, there is additional confusion regarding the red ARROW light, and different states have different rules about that too. NJ is not the only state where people are confused:
I think the majority of people who don't turn on a red light (whether circle or arrow) are either (1) not sure about the law, or (2) have been burned by red light cameras. Wasn't there a bunch of hubbub in JC and in places in Bergen County a couple of years ago where people were getting tickets for right turns on red (where there were no 'No Turn on Red' signs)? It's not just the initial ticket people are worried about. It's their auto insurance.
I don't think many people are refusing to turn because they enjoy playing traffic cop.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
