Close call with driver turning right on red, from Hayes to Army-Navy Drive

[Rootchopper]

You were lucky. Same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I got hit but lived to tell the tale.

https://rootchopper.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/making-nelles-hit-list-errandonnee-no-11/

[DrP]

@Rootchopper 158518 wrote:

You were lucky. Same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I got hit but lived to tell the tale.

https://rootchopper.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/making-nelles-hit-list-errandonnee-no-11/

Yours was a much worse situation. Very lucky that you weren’t hurt badly. I hope all bruises have healed.
I was POed more than anything else, which may be a sign that this kind of thing is happening too frequently to me – my rides through Ballston and Clarendon have likely done that to me. This one shocked me in that it wasn’t such a packed situation as Ballston/Clarendon and normally this is a far more calm intersection at that hour.

[scoot]

@DrP 158513 wrote:

A woman comes roaring up the road into the right turn lane … She continues to roar up, looking left and turning … Apparently oblivious to all else.

Glad to hear you are ok. Blowing through a no-turn-on-red like this is extremely reckless and dangerous.

You should be aware that this is an all-too-common behavior for drivers with a suburban (i.e. cars-only) mindset. In fact, at many intersections, right-turning drivers will get a green arrow whenever the cross street has a left arrow. Drivers thus become accustomed to whipping around corners whenever they see perpendicular traffic making left turns. (Plus they know that if they don’t hurry up and complete their turn before the corresponding left turn arrow expires, they might have to wait awhile after the straight-thru herd gets rolling.) Please do not interpret this post as an attempt to excuse this driver; her maneuver was very aggressive and entirely inexcusable since this is a high-pedestrian neighborhood and that intersection is clearly posted to prohibit such movement. But you might consider reducing your exposure to this hazard by waiting until the Army-Navy arrow clears.

[KLizotte]

Another example of why turns on red should be largely or entirely banned so people don’t even consider making them. I live in Pentagon City just a couple of blocks away and I can tell that you we have an unusually high number of blind people in the area. I shudder to think of what may have happened under different circumstances.

I am also a firm believer that detectors should be installed at high density intersections to stop all traffic when people in crosswalks are detected. I really don’t understand why my time and comfort is more important to planners when I’m in a steel box versus walking through the same intersection.

[DrP]

I have often wondered about blind people at all the intersections with talking walk signals and, especially, the flashing yellow signals that recommend drivers to stop. I frequently envision a blind pedestrian (or kid!) starting out when the signal announces itself only to be whacked by a vehicle that was looking for the break in traffic from the left rather than the whole intersection.

I changed my mind about right turn on red signs years ago for such reasons, since I frequently walk and bike as a form of transportation. If the drivers actually stopped and looked and waited if someone were there, that would be different, but so often folks barely slow down to make the turn.

I will not assume the person will stop next time – I will stare and wave arms, if needed, to make sure it is clear to go. I already wag my finger at folks or point to the no turn on red at the IOD. I can do that here too. It just wasn’t something I had seen before and I have been on this route for almost 3 months now. Oh well.

[JeffB]

Cars rolling right on red without stopping are so common that pedestrians should, for sheer survival, anticipate them. I try to never step into the street until I have observed cars in every lane have stopped. A new rule I’m adopting is to stand several feet back from the curb while waiting to cross. I’ve occasionally seen drivers of turning vehicles come up over curb – often when they are distracted by looking left while running the red!

[Birru]

@DrP 158548 wrote:

I changed my mind about right turn on red signs years ago for such reasons, since I frequently walk and bike as a form of transportation. If the drivers actually stopped and looked and waited if someone were there, that would be different, but so often folks barely slow down to make the turn.

I will not assume the person will stop next time – I will stare and wave arms, if needed, to make sure it is clear to go. I already wag my finger at folks or point to the no turn on red at the IOD. I can do that here too. It just wasn’t something I had seen before and I have been on this route for almost 3 months now. Oh well.

It’s not just red lights. Folks pulling out of parking lots do the same sort of thing. When I go on any of my runs I can count on this behavior. Drivers constantly looking to their left for a break in traffic without ever once looking right before stepping on the throttle. Call me crazy, but I think you should at least look in the direction of travel before stomping on the gas.

[Judd]

@Birru 158565 wrote:

It’s not just red lights. Folks pulling out of parking lots do the same sort of thing. When I go on any of my runs I can count on this behavior. Drivers constantly looking to their left for a break in traffic without ever once looking right before stepping on the throttle. Call me crazy, but I think you should at least look in the direction of travel before stomping on the gas.

I just had a flashback to my Driver’s Ed class. I can literally hear the clicking of the filmstrip with the soft radio voice saying, “Look left. Look right. Look left again. Now proceed with the turn.”

[LhasaCM]

@Judd 158576 wrote:

I just had a flashback to my Driver’s Ed class. I can literally hear the clicking of the filmstrip with the soft radio voice saying, “Look left. Look right. Look left again. Now proceed with the turn.”

And it’s a problem that too many people just “Look left while proceeding with the turn.”

[scoot]

@Judd 158576 wrote:

I just had a flashback to my Driver’s Ed class. I can literally hear the clicking of the filmstrip with the soft radio voice saying, “Look left. Look right. Look left again. Now proceed with the turn.”

We were taught this same sequence in NoVa, but only for a left turn. For a right turn, it was just “look left”. Once, as a brand-new licensed driver, I made a right turn onto an exurban arterial with wide grassy medians, no painted crosswalks, and very few pedestrians. I had only looked left, consistent with that instruction, but I noticed after I completed my turn that there was a crossing pedestrian who had stopped in the median to avoid crossing my path. This was an aha moment for me as a driver, and I realized I would need to glance to my right as well on future right turns. Not just for pedestrians, of course: you also need to see if the roadway ahead is clear!

In fact, the Virginia DMV manual’s paragraph on right turns (see “Turning”, page 17) still says “Look to your left to check the intersection for pedestrians and traffic coming from the other direction”, but it says nothing about looking to your right. This is a serious oversight that needs to be fixed.

[bentbike33]

@scoot 158587 wrote:

In fact, the Virginia DMV manual’s paragraph on right turns (see “Turning”, page 17) still says “Look to your left to check the intersection for pedestrians and traffic coming from the other direction”, but it says nothing about looking to your right. This is a serious oversight that needs to be fixed.

I am currently teaching my son to drive in VA. I will be supplementing his instructions to cover this oversight.

[KLizotte]

I don’t know if it has improved my driving but my pedestrian awareness has increased immensely due to biking. Now when crossing streets my head is swivelling around looking for all sorts of conflicts; even when on sidewalks I look behind me when moving around people and tend to stick to the right side in case a cyclist sneaks up on me. I often wish I had my helmet mirror on!

I’m amazed by how little people check for safety before crossing busy streets. They just see the little white man flashing and blindly go.

All that said, I do often fear a cyclist barreling through an intersection or coming out from a area where visibility is low.

[Author]

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