Why is it so hard for people to turn left at a traffic light?

[Anonymous]

I am not interested in getting t-boned. So I wait until it's safe. I do generally pull into the intersection, but if it's clearly going to be awhile until there's a break, I will stay back. I never honk at people in these situations because you can NOT see everything they can see (including pedestrians!) and it's incredibly rude to assume you can. I have been the pedestrian on the other side whose almost run over by some a-hole thinking he can "beat traffic and turn".

Now that I almost always have a kid in the backseat I'm even more careful.

Patience or take the metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so frustrating. There is an intersection in MoCo (coming from the Kentlands area on Quince Orchard Road and making a left on Clopper) where it takes some people 2-3 cycles before they realize that if they don't get in the middle of the intersection they simply will never be able to make the left turn! Gets some balls people!

If I were you, I would take a different route (maybe Longdraft, then right on Clopper) so that you don't get stuck behind drivers who frustrate you so.

[Anonymous]

When people honk at me, I make them wait longer. It’s like when my small children make requests by screaming at me. And 100 percent of the time it is a man honking. Calm the F down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no trouble with this, but I thought you can get a ticket for being in the middle when the light turns red. Also, a lot of times even after the light turns red, the right turn lane never clears and you can't turn left into the road you wanted.

Lifelong Washingtonian here. Back in the 70s, 80s and early 90s, the remaining left-turner could always count on turning on the yellow light. The cars from the other direction slowed down at the yellow, leaving time and space for the left-turner to go.

Fast forward to today, and cars coming from the other direction are busy pushing their way through the intersection up until the second the light turns from yellow to red. The left-turner often has to make that turn after the light has already changed.

Agreed. And this is when a cop can ticket you. I also worry a lot in DC about getting a ticket from a red light camera so there's no way I'm pulling forward in DC. (But I'm a good driver and pay close attention. I'm not the 55mph in the left lane poster above)

No cop in DC is going to give you a ticket if you are in the intersection and have been patiently waiting to turn left on a light even if you are stuck until it turns red. You people are idiots and you cause a great deal of the bad driving and angst in this town our roads. No one should sit through multiple green lights behind the line waiting to turn left. Cops are far smarter than you give them credit for and they know and deal with traffic around here the same as you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no trouble with this, but I thought you can get a ticket for being in the middle when the light turns red. Also, a lot of times even after the light turns red, the right turn lane never clears and you can't turn left into the road you wanted.

Lifelong Washingtonian here. Back in the 70s, 80s and early 90s, the remaining left-turner could always count on turning on the yellow light. The cars from the other direction slowed down at the yellow, leaving time and space for the left-turner to go.

Fast forward to today, and cars coming from the other direction are busy pushing their way through the intersection up until the second the light turns from yellow to red. The left-turner often has to make that turn after the light has already changed.

Agreed. And this is when a cop can ticket you. I also worry a lot in DC about getting a ticket from a red light camera so there's no way I'm pulling forward in DC. (But I'm a good driver and pay close attention. I'm not the 55mph in the left lane poster above)

No cop in DC is going to give you a ticket if you are in the intersection and have been patiently waiting to turn left on a light even if you are stuck until it turns red. You people are idiots and you cause a great deal of the bad driving and angst in this town our roads. No one should sit through multiple green lights behind the line waiting to turn left. Cops are far smarter than you give them credit for and they know and deal with traffic around here the same as you.

+1

The people who think this are idiots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people honk at me, I make them wait longer. It’s like when my small children make requests by screaming at me. And 100 percent of the time it is a man honking. Calm the F down.

No problem. Then I’ll drive around you, selfish twit.