Left Turn Yield on Green... (Houston, Dallas: crime, safer, moving)

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

Since we're thread is about driving annoyances, how about another one. A car breaks down in a crucial position near the intersection that backs traffic up to unbelievable magnitudes and instead of getting out and push the car 10 feet to the side of the road, they just sit there.

And I'll take that one step further-- I hate it when people have a minor fender bender and insist on sitting in the road blocking traffic until the police get there. The police don't need to see the exact position of the cars to determine what happened (the damage to the cars and the stories of the parties is more than sufficient), and in fact the law requires people to move their vehicles out of traffic if they have an accident if the vehicles can physically be moved and it is safe to do so.

[TXtrkgrl]

Originally Posted by TexHwyMan

And I'll take that one step further-- I hate it when people have a minor fender bender and insist on sitting in the road blocking traffic until the police get there. The police don't need to see the exact position of the cars to determine what happened (the damage to the cars and the stories of the parties is more than sufficient), and in fact the law requires people to move their vehicles out of traffic if they have an accident if the vehicles can physically be moved and it is safe to do so.

I had a wreck at Hwy 90 and Grossenbacher. We both moved our vehicles because we were blocking both lanes of Hwy 90, east bound. When the cop got there he would not take a report because we had moved the vehicles and he said there was no way he could tell what happened. It was obvious what happened, I rear ended someone . I thought that was strange but had gave us a "blue form" to send in to the state.
He told us to never move our vehicles after a wreck, duh!! I wasn't going to block hwy 90 in 7:00am traffic what a mess that would have been.

This was in 2003 maybe the law has changed or the cop was a dumb a$$

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

Sheesh TxHwyMan, you're like a bloody savant of all things roadway! Your explanation of the 10/410 interchange and street light definitions, i mean wheeeeww... Do you work for DoT in an engineer capacity? Next thing you'll be analyzing and articulating the substrates of pavement that are conducive to accidents, lol.

LOL. Nope, I'm just a highway enthusiast, or maybe a "road scholar"? I do have a degree un urban planning, but I actually fell into the IT field instead.

I consider myself an excellent driver (don't we all, LOL) but definitely got lost/distracted halfway through your explanations.

Sorry, I tried to keep the explanation as simple as I could, but I think that actually proves an important point-- while it's easy for folks to complain and armchair quarterback these things, people generally don't realize just how complex this stuff really is. There's a reason why the people that design and build roads and traffic systems have to be licensed engineers. I realize that they don't always get it perfect. They are human after all, and these things don't typically lend themselves to perfect cookie-cutter solutions. But overall, given the contraints and demands placed on it, our road and traffic systems work pretty darn well, and things are constantly getting better.

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by Malone

I had a wreck at Hwy 90 and Grossenbacher. We both moved our vehicles because we were blocking both lanes of Hwy 90, east bound. When the cop got there he would not take a report because we had moved the vehicles and he said there was no way he could tell what happened. It was obvious what happened, I rear ended someone . I thought that was strange but had gave us a "blue form" to send in to the state.
He told us to never move our vehicles after a wreck, duh!! I wasn't going to block hwy 90 in 7:00am traffic what a mess that would have been.

This was in 2003 maybe the law has changed or the cop was a dumb a$$

Nope, that's been the law as long as I've been here (which is since 1985). That cop apparently didn't know the law (which, sad to say, happens a lot). Here is a quote from
Safety Tips – Avoiding Collisions:

"If you are in a collision and no one is hurt, don't wait for the police before moving your vehicle. If you can drive the vehicle, the law requires you to move it out of the flow of traffic."

[TXtrkgrl]

Thanks TexHwyMan~ (I repped you ) That is interesting, so I didn't even need to call the police according to that law.

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by Malone

Thanks TexHwyMan~ (I repped you ) That is interesting, so I didn't even need to call the police according to that law.

Hey thanks. Yep, that's true, for most minor wrecks, you don't have to call them. But you still usually have to file a report, so it's just easier to call them and let them take care of it (if you don't mind waiting.)

[tekka-maki]

Originally Posted by TexHwyMan

LOL. Nope, I'm just a highway enthusiast, or maybe a "road scholar"? I do have a degree un urban planning, but I actually fell into the IT field instead.



Sorry, I tried to keep the explanation as simple as I could, but I think that actually proves an important point-- while it's easy for folks to complain and armchair quarterback these things, people generally don't realize just how complex this stuff really is. There's a reason why the people that design and build roads and traffic systems have to be licensed engineers. I realize that they don't always get it perfect. They are human after all, and these things don't typically lend themselves to perfect cookie-cutter solutions. But overall, given the contraints and demands placed on it, our road and traffic systems work pretty darn well, and things are constantly getting better.

Oh, no worries. It was clearly understandable, I was just being facetious. . But yes, other than the minor nuances of some drivers here being a tad inexperienced, I really appreciate the highway loop system. No doubt many of you have been to other major cities, but Chicago is a nightmare in terms of traffic. While a commuter and the 'el is available, driving during rush hour from downtown to my previous home in Palatine (around 23 miles) could take 2+ hours on a bad day.

[tekka-maki]

Today... car broke down and abandoned right in the middle of the road on the 410 Southbound access just N. of the Ingram Intersection. Un-believe-able.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by TexHwyMan

And another thing... if you have a green light but can't turn left because of oncoming traffic, you should wait 1/4th to 1/3rd of the way into the intersection. If you're still sitting there when the light turns red, wait for oncoming traffic to stop, then make your turn. (Never ever back out of the intersection!) In many cases, two or even three cars can wait out in the intersection and turn when the light turns red. And it's perfectly legal and helps improve efficiency at the intersection.

Do NOT wait in an intersection to make a left turn.

- It is illegal in most states (A driver shall not enter an intersection unless he is sure he can immediately leave it).

- If the signal can cause the dangerous yellow trap sequence, you can find yourself trapped in the intersection with a red light and opposing traffic still moving, so you can't turn.

Yellow trap occurs when the following occur together:

- Left turns are allowed to turn on the circular greens.
- Both directions on the street have a circular green.
- One direction changes its circular green to circular yellow, but the other directions stays circular green.

This can happen for any of these reasons:

- The signal has a lagging left turn phase.
- The signal has a leading left turn phase, but skipped an empty side street.
- The signal was pre-empted for an emergency vehicle, a railroad train, or an opening drawbridge.

Yellow trap is supposed to be abolished or warned by sign by 2008, but I have only rarely seen a signal with left turn phases that could not cause a yellow trap or had the sign.

The only way to keep from being caught by a yellow trap is to wait at the stop line, and not make the turn unless there are no cars too close to be a hazard.

I know this is a bit late, but the safety aspect is so great that the post was necessary.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by Retired-&-going-back-2-CA

Next up are the stop lights. Most are synched to go in a counter clock wise rotation resulting in an extremely long wait and build up at the light. Opposing left turn lights should go first, then opposing straight (north & southbound) and vise versa (east & west).

This is a standard diamond interchange cycle. It is necessary to keep the storage lanes between the intersections from filling up.