Tempe's "no right turn on red" intersections (Phoenix: high school, college)

[Valley Native]

Wondering if anybody (particularly anybody who lives or works in Tempe) knows why the city forbids right turns on red lights at certain intersections. I've especially noticed this at the 60 freeway offramps to major streets: McClintock, Mill, etc. Arizona law allows right turns on red lights if the motorist first comes to a complete stop and yields to right of way rules ... however, Tempe seems to be the one city which prefers to makes its own rules, and have long lines of backed up traffic waiting to turn right. Makes no sense.

[beckerd2]

Here is Arizona's law:
Right-On-Red Rule
Arizona law allows motorists to make a right turn after stopping at a red light unless there’s a sign indicating the turn is prohibited. But drivers must use caution and follow right-of-way rules when making a right on red.

Tempe is not making their own rules. They have determined that those intersections you stated needed them and they go by these stipulations....

No Right Turn on Red sign is in place because one of these scenarios exist:


inadequate sight distance
unusual geometry
high traffic speeds on the intersecting street
there are high volumes of seniors
there are heavy volumes of pedestrian crossings
disabled pedestrians request it
Adjacent to parks and hospitals
At school crossings
At railroad crossing


*I have to laugh at the high volume of seniors one. You would think ALL parts of Arizona would have a no right on red rule because of that*




I have found that they mainly put these signs up because a right-turning driver would look left for a gap in traffic and not see pedestrians or cyclists approaching from his or her right side. I always hate trying to cross a street when people are allowed to turn right on red. People don't pay attention.

[wit-nit]

Several cities in the Metro area have no right turn on red, not just Tempe. The above poster listed the main reasons.

[yukon]

There are several intersections in Mesa with no right on red signs. It's not just Tempe.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by beckerd2

Here is Arizona's law:
Right-On-Red Rule
Arizona law allows motorists to make a right turn after stopping at a red light unless there’s a sign indicating the turn is prohibited. But drivers must use caution and follow right-of-way rules when making a right on red.

Tempe is not making their own rules. They have determined that those intersections you stated needed them and they go by these stipulations....

No Right Turn on Red sign is in place because one of these scenarios exist:


inadequate sight distance
unusual geometry
high traffic speeds on the intersecting street
there are high volumes of seniors
there are heavy volumes of pedestrian crossings
disabled pedestrians request it
Adjacent to parks and hospitals
At school crossings
At railroad crossing


*I have to laugh at the high volume of seniors one. You would think ALL parts of Arizona would have a no right on red rule because of that*




I have found that they mainly put these signs up because a right-turning driver would look left for a gap in traffic and not see pedestrians or cyclists approaching from his or her right side. I always hate trying to cross a street when people are allowed to turn right on red. People don't pay attention.

Excellent points here. The right-on-red prohibitions at Tempe off-ramps from the 60 Freeway are due to limited sight distance. It's too hard to see approaching traffic on arterials like McClintock to safely turn right-on-red.

More generally, right-on-red is a serious hazard for pedestrians and needs to be reconsidered. Just a year or two ago, a Sunnyslope high school student was killed due to right-on-red combined with driver carelessness. She was crossing with the light, but a driver preoccupied with looking left didn't see her approaching from his right side. Right on red was originally put in place during the 1970s energy crisis as a way to save gasoline through reduced vehicle idling. Most vehicles today, though, don't idle the way they used to. They shut off while waiting for the light to change. In addition, right-on-red contributes to an environment hostile to pedestrians, increasing the likelihood of people favoring cars for short trips that could be accomplished by walking or other means. That of course results in more fuel consumption, the exact opposite of what right-on-red was intended to accomplish.

[Finger Laker]

I about lost my mind in college in Philadelphia when a cab driver decided to go right on red ..... With pedestrian me right in front of the car

I was paying attention to him and I'm not sure how he couldn't see me. At that time I was around 225 on a 6'5" frame

As I was removing myself from his hood I have it a little slap as I was fairly upset about it.

Dude started yelling at me as I was walking away.

Thankfully he drove off when I turned and charged.

Anyhow, the poster above covered it well.

There are a couple in my path that are restricted. Just need to pay attention to the signs and ignore those who get in their horns that you aren't turning.

Really not a big deal

[jnojr]

So far, all of the "no right turn on red" intersections I've seen have been for darned good reasons. And I can think of at least one which should be that way but isn't.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by jnojr

So far, all of the "no right turn on red" intersections I've seen have been for darned good reasons. And I can think of at least one which should be that way but isn't.

I've lived in Tempe a very long time. Agree that the ones I've seen, there and elsewhere in the Valley, need to be that way, and that there are likely some more that need it.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

Right on red was originally put in place during the 1970s energy crisis as a way to save gasoline through reduced vehicle idling. Most vehicles today, though, don't idle the way they used to. They shut off while waiting for the light to change. In addition, right-on-red contributes to an environment hostile to pedestrians, increasing the likelihood of people favoring cars for short trips that could be accomplished by walking or other means. That of course results in more fuel consumption, the exact opposite of what right-on-red was intended to accomplish.

Originally Posted by jnojr

So far, all of the "no right turn on red" intersections I've seen have been for darned good reasons. And I can think of at least one which should be that way but isn't.

There's one huge reason to allow right turns on red lights: TRAFFIC FLOW. Unless of course you enjoy seeing long lines of stopped vehicles at intersections waiting to turn right. Then of course when the lights finally turn green, you always have at least one or two inattentive slowpokes who won't get moving in time, causing fewer cars to make their turns, and resulting in even more backups. This is somewhat similar to the left turn arrow issue.

At the Tempe intersections I've personally witnessed, the sight distance is no different than any other intersection, and there is sufficient enough clearing time from the other end to allow right turns. Funny how the city of Phoenix doesn't have the prohibitive "no turn on red" signs ... at least not at any of the intersections I'm familiar with. Seems to be mostly a Tempe/east Valley thing.

[Maroon197]

In my experience, there’s a fairly large subset of the population that completely ignores those signs anyway, just like they ignore red lights and the rules of a 4 way stop.