Left turn - proceed into intersection or not?

It never occured to me that I couldn't/shouldn't enter the intersection. I have never waited. And I would think about beeping if the person in front of me didn't. Same with folks who hesitate to turn right on a red.

I was a truck driver, and in school they told us to take control of the intersection when making a left turn. If you don't you will never make the turn. Truck and big rigs take a little time to get rolling and need all the help they can get.

PenMan wrote:
Be careful if you come to New Mexico. It is perfectly legal here to just run the red light. Also, a sign that specifically states "No Turn On Red" is really just a suggestion that you at least slow down before you turn on the red. If you are stopped at a red light with no turn on red signs in the right turn only lane, people behind you will definitely blow their horns and may even give you a nudge to let you know it is fine to run the red. This is the ONLY thing I hate about NM.

That's probably because most people living in NM ain't from NM, they moved there from Cali and NY... :D

Be careful if you come to New Mexico. It is perfectly legal here to just run the red light. Also, a sign that specifically states "No Turn On Red" is really just a suggestion that you at least slow down before you turn on the red. If you are stopped at a red light with no turn on red signs in the right turn only lane, people behind you will definitely blow their horns and may even give you a nudge to let you know it is fine to run the red. This is the ONLY thing I hate about NM.

OP here: because of the directly conflicting answers given to my original question, I decided to double-check my understanding of the law here. It turns out that the Highway Traffic Act doesn't directly address the issue. However, it implies that it is generally acceptable to move into an intersection to wait for traffic to clear because it says that municipalities may enact bylaws to prohibit moving into the intersection.

When I was involved in driver's license testing for motorcycle riders, the riders were expected to move into the intersection if they were first in line. If they didn't move, they got a black mark. If they moved but there was already a vehicle waiting in the intersection, they got a black mark.

Legally, 'round here you're not supposed to enter the intersection until its clear and you can complete the turn. In practice, most everyone enters the intersection, stops mid-way and turns when there's an opportunity. Young drivers and nervous drivers tend to stop at the stop line and wait; frankly, its probably for the best as they'd be the ones to freeze or try to back up when the light changes.

As far as red light cameras, ours require two time-stamped pictures: the first showing the vehicle behind the stop line and a red light, the second showing the vehicle in the intersection and a red light. There really isn't much argument to be had and, if you get caught, its just best to pay the fine.

Executive wrote:
Not in Ca or Az. Many States have a blinking yellow arrow for left turns. And in California as long as you're across the painted white line when the light is green, that intersection is yours no matter the color of the signal....Dennis

Yes this is the legal interpretation of the the law in AZ. BUT I can't tell you how many times I have sat behind someone, a local, waiting for the traffic to clear BEFORE they would enter the intersection. THUS only they make it thu the light a lot of the time. In AZ you enter the intersection to nearly the center when the light turns Green, PERIOD! In AZ if you enter the intersection on a Yellow light it is legal even IF the light turns Red while you are in the intersection. This has caused a big/huge problem in the Phoenix area with photo enforcement. A person would enter the intersection on a green or yellow light and still be there when the camera snapped the photo after the yellow light turn red. Lot of people were up in arms as they started receiving tickets from the third party foreign Company (that manages the photo radar systems & keeps most of the funds from the tickets) mindlessly sent out the tickets. This became such a problem that the State of AZ Department of Transportation issued an order that no further installation of Photo system will be allowed on State Highways. A ballot issue in Tucson just failed to get on the ballot because too many of the signatures were deemed invalid even tho they had double the signatures required. Turns out too many non-registered to vote locals & out of Tucson voters signed the petition to get the issue on the ballot.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

joebedford wrote:
In southern USA I have seen many instances where a driver in front of me won't go into the intersection until he can make the turn. Is that the rule in the south or is it just ignorance of the drivers?

Many intersections have a wide painted white line, the "balk" line. That is the furthest point where one should drive for a stop sign or stop light.

When approaching an intersection and the light is red or a stop sign is present, then you should stop at that line and wait until the light turns green and traffic is clear and it is safe to proceed. If a stop sign, then wait at that line until traffic is clear and it is safe to proceed.

If turning left, and the light is green or there is no stop sign, then proceed past the balk line into the intersection and complete the turn by either immediately turning into the correct corresponding lane of roadway or wait until traffic has cleared and it is safe to proceed.

Note the balk line has no influence on the turning if the light is green or there is no stop sign.

GENECOP wrote:
Where we live if you could only go through the intersection in one smooth motion we would all be out of gas waiting for the opportunity.....

that was my feeling also. might work in a podunk one light town, but in any traffic/city traffic would come to a standstill.
would like to see folks quote their DMV booklet on this.
Likewise I asked my former police chief neighbor about what constitutes a complete stop. She said that was up to the officer who witnessed it. if they didn't think it was a stop, issue a ticket and see what the court says.
bumpy

joebedford wrote:
In southern USA I have seen many instances where a driver in front of me won't go into the intersection until he can make the turn. Is that the rule in the south or is it just ignorance of the drivers?

I've seen that behavior in Ft. Myers. At intersections so huge they could hold 3 to 4 cars waiting to turn left. The car waiting at the stop bar usually has Florida tags, so it must be the law there.
They make up for it by the next 2 or 3 cars turning left on a fully red light.

It's not the only "independent" attitude I've observed in Florida traffic. Never a signal to change lanes, leapfrogging thru traffic to gain one car length. No "go with the flow of traffic" attitude. What I consider aggressive driving. I have to remind myself it isn't personal, it's just how traffic moves there.

It's not as bazar to me as traffic in Detroit where the "assured clear distance" takes second place to "failure to stop".
We were in a car lot trying to turn right into busy traffic on the huge Livernois Ave. We had 3 drivers and none of us could do it. The car salesman said, "Just pull out, they'll stop." It looked like suicide to us. He finally had to have his daughter drive us off of the lot.