Foolish Moves I’ve Stopped Making

I am an impatient driver. I drive too fast. Right turn on red was made for me.

I also take advantage of a little known law: “left turn on red.”

Stop laughing. I’m not kidding. Here’s what Wikipedia says:

In most areas of the United States, it is also legal to make some left turns on red. In all cases, the road being turned onto must be one-way. Making a left-turn on red from a two-way street is legal in only five states: Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington. In Washington, freeway on-ramps are considered one-way streets for the purposes of the left turn on red law.

Pretty cool, huh? And, it makes sense. One way to one way left on red is no more perilous than right on red.

There’s one particular left on red I often make. It’s at the intersection of College Street and South Frontage Road (Rte 34) in New Haven. I’ve been doing it for years to the amazement of passengers, including my own skeptical family. It only saves a few seconds, but who cares? That’s not the point.

I happened to stumble upon an article about left on red tonight. It was serendipity… and being the ‘left on red’ man, I read along.

Left turns on red are prohibited in the states of South Dakota (unless permitted by local ordinance), Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and in the District of Columbia and Guam.

Really?

I am so embarrassed! And, I am so relieved to learn about this by reading, as opposed to learning about it from a cop!

7 thoughts on “Foolish Moves I’ve Stopped Making”

  1. I’m not so sure it’s illegal – At least in New Haven. – Or at least, it WAS legal at one point in the relative recent past. I remember looking at some law books in the library once, and finding a law stating that left turn on red was legal in New Haven (City Ordinance). I’ll have to see if I can find something.

  2. Wow! I’ve been pulling those in DC for years! Guess there’s never been a cop around. Traffic would get too backed up in some areas if you didn’t make a left on red!

  3. Unless that is true about the New Haven City Ordinance, the likely penalty would be an infraction ticket; CT Statute # 14-299, Failure to Obey a Control Signal, which carries a $124 fine, or maybe Statute #14-242, Restricted Turn, which carries a fine of $103.

  4. my name is oraine and i am from the city of wallingford, I am A african american and also 23 years of age. I was discriminated against by a group of cops that decided to stop me after I took a legal right turn at a red light. According to the Connecticut DMV laws on driving I did nothing wrong because I came to a complete stop, checked both side of the street before proceeding to my right. The police car that was behind me turned his lights on and i pulled over to the nearest available street side. Before coming out of his patrol car he waited ten minutes for two other Hew Haven cops to arrive at the “scene,”the officer that pulled me over then came to my car and had one officer shining his flashlight in the car on me while all my car lights were on, what made made the situation that they have created more uncomfortable for me was the officer that asked me for my drivers license and registration had his flashlight directly in my eyes. after taking my information he took another 20minutes talking and joking around with his obvious “friends” I receive a $120 ticket which i definetly will plead not guilty because I truly hope he will be in court when I go for the hearing. THE LAWS DOESNT MAKE THE HARD WORKING CITIZENS OF AMERICA HATE THE COPS, THE CURRUPTED COPS MAKE THE PEOPLE’S HATE THE POLICE WHICH ARE SUPPOSE TO BE HONEST AND PROTECTING THE INOCCENTS!

  5. COPS ARE SUPPOSE TO PROTECT AND SERVE IN HONESTY AND TRUTH, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR DESPARATE SITUATION IS, A GROUP OF NEW HAVEN POLICE OFFICER JUST PROVED TO ME THAT CURRUPTION IS THEIR WAY OF SURVIVAL!!!!

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