Why is it ok to make right turns in red light at some intersections?

Question

I know it is ok to turn right in red light at intersections unless there is a sign called "No Turn on Red". However, I try to wait until it turns green because I never feel safe turning right in red. However, I was honked few times beause of that.
1. Do you guys always make right turn in red if no sign is there?
2. Do you resent drivers who wait till green light to make right turns when there is no sign?

Answer 1

Some states allow it, some do not. If you are not sure or do not feel safe turning on a red, just sit there till the light turns, regardless of who is honking at you. Safety on the road is first. I only get frustrated when I am in a hurry.

Answer 2

If legal to do so and enough visibility, I turn right on red. One always needs to be aware of people on bikes, pedestrians and other obstructions that sometimes pop out at the last moment. I can understand why you would want to wait for the right of way.... I normally don't become impatient with drivers who wait for a green light as it really doesn't take much longer. If its OBVIOUSLY clear and we're the only cars on the road at the time, then I might become a little antsy.

Answer 3

Unless it is posted "No Right on Red" then it is okay to turn. But, if you feel unsafe/not right doing this than don't do it....THERE IS NO LAW STATING THAT YOU HAVE TO TURN RIGHT ON RED. If the people behind you honk at you....oh well, too bad for them.

When you are behind the wheel you have to do what you feel is safe. Don't worry about the others on the road unless you are doing something illegal. Let them honk. Piss them off and give them a wave (and just smile to yourself!).

Oh yeah, most of the time, I turn right on red, but sometimes I don't and I don't let the other drivers fluster me.

Drive safely.

Answer 4

1. Yes, if it is safe to do so, and you must come to a full stop before proceeding.
2. Yes they are a pain in the butt because they do not drive consistently with the rules of the road (i.e. they don't know how to drive) and are the main cause of traffic jams and accidents.

Only intersections which do not have a clear view of traffic approaching from the left will have a no right turn on red sign.
If you are waiting to turn right because you are nervous you are wasting your time and gas, and the time and gas of everyone behind you. If you don't know or respect the rules of the road, don't drive a car; it is a privilege, not a right.
.

Answer 5

In california, it is legal to make a right turn on red once you come to a complete stop, (unless otherwise posted). If you wait for a green light, you are holding up traffic.

Answer 6

In NY it is legal to turn right on red but you must come to a complete stop first. I do not care if the guy waits for a green light.

Answer 7

If the road from the left is very visible, and when it's safe, you should turn right even on red, because if you don't, you hold up traffic and cause irritation to other drivers.

Answer 8

The reason for legal right turns on red is very simple: it alleviates traffic congestion.

Traffic lights prevent the flow of traffic from crossing; that is, they don't want cars heading north/south to tangle with cars heading east/west. A right turn on red, however, is a car merging into the flow of cross traffic, and so remains somewhat risky -- but nothing nearly as dangerous as trying to drive through cross-traffic.

Now, the way it works is this: it is your responsibility to determine if it is safe to make the right turn on red. You are the sole person responsible for making that determination; you must be sure no pedestrians will be struck, and that you can safely merge into cross-traffic without striking another vehicle, or forcing another vehicle to take evasive action (swerving or hitting the brake.) If you don't feel it is safe to go, then don't go -- after all, if there's an accident, you are the only person who will be to blame.

So, will people behind you honk? Absolutely. Why? A couple of reasons:

1. What you think is unsafe might seem safe to the driver behind you. They might not see cross-traffic that you see, or they might think you have enough room to merge when you know your car isn't fast enough to merge safely. Perhaps you see a pedestrian they don't see. They think you should be going, and you're not going. So they honk.

2. They might be impatient, or in a hurry, or just angry (about driving, or about something unrelated.) They want you to go, and since it's legal for you to go, they don't care if it's safe or not -- they just want you out of their way.

3. It might be clearly safe to go, but you're not going. Perhaps visibility is clear to everyone in the vicinity, no pedestrians are present, and there is no oncoming cross-traffic. Yet, you just sit there, oblivious to the fact that you're holding up traffic. The driver behind you assumes that (a) you haven't realized you can turn on red, (b) you're distracted and don't realize it's safe for you to turn on red, or (c) you're too scared to turn on red.

In cases 1 and 2 above, you shouldn't go, and you shouldn't care about honking. It's your responsibility to make sure proceeding into cross-traffic is safe, and the people behind you are assessing the risks differently, because they carry no legal responsibility. Don't turn.

In case 3, however, you're impeding the flow of traffic for one reason, and one reason only: you're making a poor judgement about whether it's safe to proceed. If you find yourself in this situation often, you should consider taking additional driver training courses until you're more comfortable behind the wheel.

Meanwhile, here's a trick: if you're in a lane that can turn right OR go straight (that is, a lane that isn't dedicated to right-turn-only), simply leave your turn signal off. The guy behind you might be annoyed that you're blocking his right turn, but legally you're on firm ground -- then when the light changes and you turn, he'll be angrier still, but it's too late to honk. Expect to have a lot of angry drivers pulling up next to you and giving you the finger, though.

Why, you may ask? Well, it's pretty simple. Some people are jerks, plain and simple. However, other people have respect for the responsibility of driving, and don't appreciate it when untrained/inattentive/scared drivers share the road with them. Such drivers impede traffic, and make driving more dangerous for everyone else because it's hard to predict what they're going to do -- and predicting other drivers' behavior is a key to safe driving.

So, bottom line: never turn right on red when you don't think it's safe, no matter who honks -- but if you find yourself unwilling to turn on red even when it's clearly, obviously safe, go take more driving lessons until you've achieved the confidence behind the wheel that makes you a safer, and above all more predictable driver.

Answer 9

There is no law that you must turn, after stopping, at a red light. The reason people are honking at you is to show you how great their horn works. Just smile and wave to them and tell them that their horn does work. Also, ask if the driver blows!

Answer 10

each licensed driver is supposed to know the rulesof the road and the traffic codes for his local area and state. If permitted, right turns on red is allowed.