When making turns…
Drivers sometimes have uncertainties when making turns. A couple of those quandaries are of concern to reader S.K., who wrote, “I have learned over the years to always be on the lookout when making left turns, but there are two ‘dilemmas’ that I have never found rules for.”
So, she asked, “First is the situation when approaching a + shaped intersection where I am approaching from the south (or north) and will have a stop sign when I reach the intersection. The east-west street is an arterial so has the right of way. When I get to the intersection there is a car facing me in the opposite direction waiting at his stop sign, signaling for a left turn. I make my stop and want to go straight through but this guy has been waiting there and signaling and since he was there first, does he have the right to turn in front of me? This situation came up frequently when my son was learning to drive, and his solution was to put on his left turn signal and have both cars turn left, but that meant going out of the way and doubling back somehow.”
Ha! Her son used the same creative means to avoid conflict that I have while riding my motorcycle. Nevertheless, a left-turning vehicle should yield right-of-way to an opposing (facing) vehicle travelling straight. It doesn’t matter who got there first. When both vehicles are stopped at the same time (waiting for traffic to clear or whatever), the vehicle intending to travel straight through the intersection has the right-of-way. Since it is common for such stopped vehicles to wait together for cross-traffic to clear on the main arterial, it would not be reasonable to keep track of who arrived at their opposing stop signs first.
Applicable Washington law: RCW 46.61.185 Vehicle turning left. The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard.
The first-to-arrive, first-to-leave procedure applies at four-way stops, which could be the source of confusion at these cross streets.
S.K. also wondered, “Second is making a left turn at an intersection (with traffic signal) where all four sides of the intersection have two lanes. I want to turn left and the car facing me wants to turn right, but the light is turning so I begin my turn and the opposite car turns right in front of me into (my) left hand lane and gives me a signal of displeasure in the process. Now isn’t she supposed to turn right into the right hand lane, and isn’t the left hand lane ‘mine’? Aren’t there rules here?”
The right-turning vehicle should not interfere with your left turn when there are two lanes provided in the same direction of travel. Drivers commonly make a bee-line to the wrong lane after turning, which is not the legal procedure.
The rule: RCW 46.61.290 Required position and method of turning at intersections. The driver of a vehicle intending to turn shall do so as follows: (1) Right turns. Both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
Readers may contact Bill Love via e-mail at precisiondriving@spokesman.com.
