#642 The Surprise Left Turn Arrow

Neil Pasricha

Time to beat the rush and get movingHas long left turn lane got you down?

Are you backed up past where the lane even begins? Is there an 18-wheeler in front of you pulling a massive wraparound turn at the speed of sloth? Did the guy in the intersection hit the brakes when you expected him to gun it, delaying you both for another light? Or did a car in oncoming traffic run a red and keep you stranded awkwardly in no man’s land?

Baby, if you’re stalled at the amber and are feeling bright red, have we got the cure for you: The Surprise Left Turn Arrow.

Yes, when that neon green arrow suddenly flashes above you, just hammer the gas and get going, because the curtain’s up, the audience is cheering, and the stage is calling you on.

AWESOME!

25 thoughts to “#642 The Surprise Left Turn Arrow”

  2. The best part about this is that you don’t have to do the strange “it’s green, but you have to yield, so you’re probably going to have an embarrassingly long stretch of cars and then need to turn when the light is red and you’re in the middle of the intersection” thing. Bit verbose, but it makes sense.

    1. The blinking advance green doesn’t exist everywhere. I remember having a friend in town once who had never seen it before, and all of a sudden, the blinking advance green comes on, and he freaks out and says: “WTF?! Is that traffic light going to explode!?!”

      But I agree – anything that has you turning left with carefree abandon is AWESOME!

  7. Palms moist….eyes locked on signal….staged…pre-staged…red-yellow-green- D’oh! This intersection doesn’t have one. Would’ve been Awesome…!

  8. Blinking advanced greens are hard to come by now-a-days, but I truely agree these are even better than left turn arrows.

    Nothing brightens up your day more than the right of way.

  10. Totally love that arrow. Literally make my whole driving experience a good one. XD

  11. I grew up with left turn arrows at most intersections, so when I moved to an area with almost none, it was a strange adjustment.

    I have been known to drive a few blocks out of the way, just so I can get a green arrow. It feels so much better to know I have the right of way so that I’m not gunning to make a screeching left turn right before a bus as the light turns yellow.

  14. Well this was confusing! As most know, Australians drive on the left, so what is the left turn arrow? Is it just like the reverse of our right turn arrow? next to the red light? And this confused me too… “Are you backed up past where the lane even begins?” what do you mean past where the lane begins? because our right turn lanes are just as long as the stright-ahead lanes, but the left turn lanes turn out from the the sraight ahead ones….. -_-

  15. It’s especially nice when the drivers on the other side realize it’s just your turn, not like, ok they’re car is moving and assume they can too!

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  19. Where I live almost every left turn is a left arrow turn, so this is more expected than a surprise. I hate left turn yield intersections so much!

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