drivers from opposite direction cutting my green light

[luv2liv]

sitting at a red light, in the car. when the light turns green, opposite traffic cars cut immediately to their left. this crazy trend started 4 years ago in philly. and now it's getting so bad that the 2nd car behind the first is doing it too!!
how bad is it where you live?

my dash cam recorded it but the 1st and 2nd has no front plates. if i did get plates, can i report them or what?

update, link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U7BHmxJrxg

 

[Raizinman]

Having been to Philly a few times, all I can say is that the traffic rules there are pretty much just a guideline.

 

[NoCreativity]

I"m not sure how I feel about this. On one hand people who do that are assholes. On the other, people today are so busy not paying attention to when the light turns green it almost seems pointless to wait around for them to quit texting and drive.

 

[96Firebird]

Drive into them. Not your fault, they failed to yield the right of way.

 

[Ken g6]

Do you mean left-turners pull into the intersection while the light is green, sit there, then turn left once their light turns yellow or red? That's called "owning the intersection". My driving instructor, in a school driving course, taught me to do this.

Or do you mean left-turners leap out as the light turns green, and turn in front of oncoming traffic whose light has also turned green? That's illegal and very dangerous.

 

[cbrunny]

That's considered street racing in ontario.

That means police can issue roadside seven-day licence suspensions and impound vehicles for a week. If convicted, you could face fines ranging from $2,000 to $10,000.

http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=6b7d070b-7d48-466c-96db-586d2a5f6def

 

[luv2liv]

Or do you mean left-turners leap out as the light turns green, and turn in front of oncoming traffic whose light has also turned green? That's illegal and very dangerous.

this.
once in awhile, there's pedestrian walking their green light. so now, people with the right of way has to wait because the left turner is stuck waiting for the pedestrian. its unbelievably insane. when it's my turn to be a pedestrian, im afraid of being swiped because the left turners are gunning it, trying to beat the right of way cars

 

[slag]

this.
once in awhile, there's pedestrian walking their green light. so now, people with the right of way has to wait because the left turner is stuck waiting for the pedestrian. its unbelievably insane. when it's my turn to be a pedestrian, im afraid of being swiped because the left turners are gunning it, trying to beat the right of way cars

Happened the other day in podunk Topeka, Kansas. It's everywhere now.

 

[Blackjack200]

Oh please, getting a couple of quick left turns in before traffic starts flowing through the intersection is much more efficient than having protected turns/green arrows all over the place.

I do this all the time, but it depends on the intersection and the situation. You can tell if the other car is anticipating the green or not (usually they're not), you look to make sure there aren't pedestrians getting ready to cross or cross traffic stretching the yellow.

The alternative is you have traffic light cycles that give every direction a protected left, which is way more annoying.

 

[cbrunny]

Oh please, getting a couple of quick left turns in before traffic starts flowing through the intersection is much more efficient than having protected turns/green arrows all over the place.

I do this all the time, but it depends on the intersection and the situation. You can tell if the other car is anticipating the green or not (usually they're not), you look to make sure there aren't pedestrians getting ready to cross or cross traffic stretching the yellow.

The alternative is you have traffic light cycles that give every direction a protected left, which is way more annoying.

Well you're an idiot. This is incredibly unsafe. You should not have a drivers license.

 

[DrPizza]

They have farther to go to get to that point, OP. Beat them off the line - you have the right of way. They'll be able to start moving forward into the intersection, but seeing you moving forward, they'll stop. If they're half way into the intersection, and you're still sitting at the red light with very delayed reactions, then while it's dangerous and illegal, at least it keeps traffic flowing better.

 

[kt]

Oh please, getting a couple of quick left turns in before traffic starts flowing through the intersection is much more efficient than having protected turns/green arrows all over the place.

I do this all the time, but it depends on the intersection and the situation. You can tell if the other car is anticipating the green or not (usually they're not), you look to make sure there aren't pedestrians getting ready to cross or cross traffic stretching the yellow.

The alternative is you have traffic light cycles that give every direction a protected left, which is way more annoying.

 

[luv2liv]

Drive into them. Not your fault, they failed to yield the right of way.

honestly i woulda ram into them the next time for fun, if son wasnt in the car.
it's time for another car anyway since my 2001 camry starts making vibrations when stationary.

 

[purbeast0]

i really wish bad drivers didn't grind my gears, but for some reason bad drivers just really get under my skin. i deal with probably the worst drivers in the country around the DC metro area.

today i either forgot to set my alarm or i turned it off while asleep, and i had to drive to work an hour later than normal. it was painful at how much that 1 hour different makes with the idiots on the road. i was raging 1/2 of my trip to work.

 

[chitwood]

at first I thought you were talking about the people making a left, waiting for an opportunity to turn, then the light turns yellow, as a stream of left turners just keeps turning even after the light has turned red.

This happens all the time around here, it's absurd.

 

[Blackjack200]

Well you're an idiot. This is incredibly unsafe. You should not have a drivers license.

0 accidents in 20 years of driving brother. The safety of this maneuver depends entirely on the circumstances. I don't do it if it's not safe.

They have farther to go to get to that point, OP. Beat them off the line - you have the right of way. They'll be able to start moving forward into the intersection, but seeing you moving forward, they'll stop. If they're half way into the intersection, and you're still sitting at the red light with very delayed reactions, then while it's dangerous and illegal, at least it keeps traffic flowing better.

Why would you do this? It's not a competition; if I'm in the opposite situation, I always delay for a moment to give the other car a chance to make the left turn. It's courteous, and it helps traffic flow since cars going straight through the intersection won't be trapped behind them.

Yeah, I'm the one trolling, not the people saying that they're going to deliberately ram cars that are turning in front of them.

 

[luv2liv]

and here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U7BHmxJrxg
im used to the 1st car cutting me off now. but i didnt expect the 2nd car to cut me off

 

[ControlD]

Sort of a tangent to the issue raised by the OP (which people have been doing for a LONG time around here) that raises my blood pressure. Are young drivers no longer being taught to pull into the intersection while waiting to make a left turn at a traffic light? I see people waiting through multiple green lights to make a left hand turn almost every day. It drives me crazy.

 

[nickbits]

Sort of a tangent to the issue raised by the OP (which people have been doing for a LONG time around here) that raises my blood pressure. Are young drivers no longer being taught to pull into the intersection while waiting to make a left turn at a traffic light? I see people waiting through multiple green lights to make a left hand turn almost every day. It drives me crazy.

I wondered that too; thought it might have been a US thing since I learned to drive in Canada.

 

[DrPizza]

0 accidents in 20 years of driving brother. The safety of this maneuver depends entirely on the circumstances. I don't do it if it's not safe.



Why would you do this? It's not a competition; if I'm in the opposite situation, I always delay for a moment to give the other car a chance to make the left turn. It's courteous, and it helps traffic flow since cars going straight through the intersection won't be trapped behind them.



Yeah, I'm the one trolling, not the people saying that they're going to deliberately ram cars that are turning in front of them.

0 accidents in 30 years of driving, except a suicidal deer late one night - I live in the sticks, plus I drive 25-30k miles per year. I suppose I agree - it's sort of safe to make that left turn if you're paying really close attention to everything around you.

I didn't mean it as a competition - but on behalf of all the people behind you when the light turns green, put your foot on the long skinny pedal. Green means go, not wait for giving the right of way to people who do not have the right of way.

Completely agree with the ramming. In such a situation, I'd prefer that driver 1 gets a ticket for failure to yield the right of way, and driver 2 (who rams the guy making the left) gets a ticket for deliberately ramming the other driver. It's not hard to figure out who's at fault in such a situation, given where the body damage is. If you you are starting from rest, and t-bone another car, you're the one who loses the lawsuit if someone gets injured.

 

[TwiceOver]

and here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U7BHmxJrxg
im used to the 1st car cutting me off now. but i didnt expect the 2nd car to cut me off

Those two drivers should lose their licenses. That second driver, though probably distracted and just following the other driver's lead, should be decapitated.

 

[cbrunny]

0 accidents in 20 years of driving brother. The safety of this maneuver depends entirely on the circumstances. I don't do it if it's not safe.

LOL very delusion.

 

[DrPizza]

honestly i woulda ram into them the next time for fun, if son wasnt in the car.
it's time for another car anyway since my 2001 camry starts making vibrations when stationary.

I'm glad you have so much concern for your son. But, you seem to be showing a blatant disregard for other people, including possible other sons that may be in a baby seat in the back.

 

[LTC8K6]

In my family, those have been called "New York Lefts", for as long as I can remember.

 

[sdifox]

Oh please, getting a couple of quick left turns in before traffic starts flowing through the intersection is much more efficient than having protected turns/green arrows all over the place.

I do this all the time, but it depends on the intersection and the situation. You can tell if the other car is anticipating the green or not (usually they're not), you look to make sure there aren't pedestrians getting ready to cross or cross traffic stretching the yellow.

The alternative is you have traffic light cycles that give every direction a protected left, which is way more annoying.

Asshat thou art.