Junction - Is this on?

[GregK2]

A junction i pull out of daily on my commute has me wondering, not sure if this is the right place to post but seems as good a place as any.

I need to turn right here:


It's a horrible road (A605) at rush hour, crammed full of HGV's and long lines of traffic stuck behind them, in both directions. Turning right can take some time to find a suitable gap.

What i've noticed people doing to get around this is:
(Apologies for crude paint skills, no they don't cut across the grass)



Turning left and performing U-turn in this Junction:



I can't make up my mind how i feel about this, on one hand it stops a big line building waiting to turn right, on the other hand i've had my gap to pull out blocked by someone doing this move which was highly irratating. I've performed this move once as a tractor was waiting to turn right and i feared i may have been waiting a long time, and it felt a bit naughty, but i'll see someone do this everyday without fail, what say you PH?

[simoid]

I'd go left, pull the U-ey and let someone out who is waiting to turn right, if safe.

[Benbay001]

Ive done this before.
When ive sat at a junction and just dont seem to be able to find a safe gap.

[GregK2]

simoid said:

I'd go left, pull the U-ey and let someone out who is waiting to turn right, if safe.

Often the car performing U-ey is accelerating hard as traffic behind rapidly catches them and i don't think there would ever be a situation where it would be safe to let someone out during rush hour here.

[Craikeybaby]

It's a bit like going around a roundabout 1 1/4 times to turn left, to avoid a queue in the left lane, great for the person doing it, but worse for everyone else.

In your situation, I can actually see turning left as being safer though.

[M4cruiser]

I would turn left but not do the u turn, just follow the yellow sign and use the next roundabout.

May seem longer most days but once in a blue moon you'll see the result of a crash from either turning right or doing the U turn.

[GregK2]

Problem is that roundabout is approx 3 miles away, not ideal.

[simoid]

GregK2 said:

Problem is that roundabout is approx 3 miles away, not ideal.

Alternative route?

[GregK2]

simoid said:

Alternative route?

Well yes, but not really the point of my post. I just wondered what other peoples views would be on performing the U turn to avoid waiting to turn right. Seems a mixed response so far!

It's not so much a hassle that i would need to take an alternate route, just more interested in views of if it's a safe/sensible/acceptable move.

[GregK2]

Craikeybaby said:

It's a bit like going around a roundabout 1 1/4 times to turn left, to avoid a queue in the left lane, great for the person doing it, but worse for everyone else.

In your situation, I can actually see turning left as being safer though.

It is very much like the roundabout example. I imagine this would leave people in the left hand lane less than happy, but does that mean you shouldn't do it?

[300bhp/ton]

Craikeybaby said:

It's a bit like going around a roundabout 1 1/4 times to turn left, to avoid a queue in the left lane, great for the person doing it, but worse for everyone else.

Nothing wrong with it though, they are simply choosing to drive a different legal route. You can do it to if you want too.

[300bhp/ton]

GregK2 said:

A junction i pull out of daily on my commute has me wondering, not sure if this is the right place to post but seems as good a place as any.

I need to turn right here:


It's a horrible road (A605) at rush hour, crammed full of HGV's and long lines of traffic stuck behind them, in both directions. Turning right can take some time to find a suitable gap.

What i've noticed people doing to get around this is:
(Apologies for crude paint skills, no they don't cut across the grass)


Turning left and performing U-turn in this Junction:


I can't make up my mind how i feel about this, on one hand it stops a big line building waiting to turn right, on the other hand i've had my gap to pull out blocked by someone doing this move which was highly irratating. I've performed this move once as a tractor was waiting to turn right and i feared i may have been waiting a long time, and it felt a bit naughty, but i'll see someone do this everyday without fail, what say you PH?

There is nothing wrong in doing this.

[300bhp/ton]

GregK2 said:

Well yes, but not really the point of my post. I just wondered what other peoples views would be on performing the U turn to avoid waiting to turn right. Seems a mixed response so far!

It's not so much a hassle that i would need to take an alternate route, just more interested in views of if it's a safe/sensible/acceptable move.

In many cases it may well be safer to do this, than try and turn across both lanes of traffic. I guess the only thing that might be said is they should not perform a U turn on a junction, although 3 point turns and reversing around a junction are part of the driving test, so very much accepted.

[trashbat]

GregK2 said:

Craikeybaby said:

It's a bit like going around a roundabout 1 1/4 times to turn left, to avoid a queue in the left lane, great for the person doing it, but worse for everyone else.

In your situation, I can actually see turning left as being safer though.

It is very much like the roundabout example. I imagine this would leave people in the left hand lane less than happy, but does that mean you shouldn't do it?

By sitting waiting to turn right, you may be delaying someone too - OK, the car behind can still go left but back up enough right-turning traffic and someone is unnecessarily stuck.

Even in the roundabout example, it's not worse for everyone. You're making use of road surface that would otherwise go unused, and possibly keeping traffic flowing which is always a good thing - a bit like how failing to merge in turn at the merge point creates longer tailbacks.

My view is that as long as it's done safely, it's all legit.

[300bhp/ton]

trashbat said:

a bit like how failing to merge in turn at the merge point creates longer tailbacks.

This one bugs me. The other year they were doing some major works on a 2 mile stretch of dual carriage way. Round about at both ends, the 2nd lane didn't close until 100 yrds from the last round about and a sign clearly said "use both lanes" as you entered the dual carriage way some 2 miles earlier on. But fkwits still insisted in merging as you left the first round about, or worse parking across both lanes to prevent people using the other lane.

[Cliftonite]

There is a T-junction near Batley, West Yorkshire, where I regularly used to pull this manoeuvre.

The "authorities" permanently blocked the left-hand lane, so even the (legitimate!) left turners now have to queue!

[alpha channel]

Bit like a junction near me which I used to use on a daily basis when I was going to university (Binchester for those that know) turning right was damn near impossible at rush hour and many used to hike a left, trundle up to the roundabout which isn't that far away and basically do what these commuters are doing, though without generally impeding other motorists. The council have now made it official and it's the only option (the council built a fairly large barrier at the junction).

[Craikeybaby]

300bhp/ton said:

Craikeybaby said:

It's a bit like going around a roundabout 1 1/4 times to turn left, to avoid a queue in the left lane, great for the person doing it, but worse for everyone else.

Nothing wrong with it though, they are simply choosing to drive a different legal route. You can do it to if you want too.

But extra traffic going around the roundabout means that people in the left lane can't pull out. I agree it is legal, but is it right if it makes the queue worse for everyone else?

[300bhp/ton]

Craikeybaby said:

But extra traffic going around the roundabout means that people in the left lane can't pull out. I agree it is legal, but is it right if it makes the queue worse for everyone else?

Does it make the queue worse though, or better?

Remember if you are no longer queuing, then you are not in the way, if you are in a lane of traffic moving, then you are not blocking anyone either. And as you go around the round about you may well cause a break in the traffic and allow more people out that are waiting to turn left.

[alpha channel]

In this particular case the extra vehicles going around the roundabout don't really impede the traffic as the traffic itself coming out of the junction was quite light and some ten years on still is... probably. The biggest problem was the flow of traffic as invariably as one lane cleared the other lane had traffic coming. Admittedly the Binchester junction isn't anywhere nearly as busy with traffic pulling out but without the intervention of part time traffic lights (horrid things though I know one junction in Barnard Castle that could benefit from them hugely during morning rush hour) this was the best solution for this junction which, for once, actually works.

I'm not so sure it'd work for anything approaching the OP's traffic levels, though it's a remarkably similar junction, though as stated the traffic would very likely probably gum up the oncoming traffic.