aERonAUtical96

So I've had this happen a couple times now so I'm curious what others do. Approaching a red light with cars and I am turning left. Normally I lane split to get to the front. I proceed on the green arrow. The cars across the intersection tend to "freeze" when they see me take off... they think I'm going straight even tho I'm in the left turn lane. If I notice them, I will give a signal that I'm going left.

My question/thought... do you head to the front of the line? Do you tuck in behind the first or 2nd car? Do you just get in position wherever it happens to be? I'm thinking of stopping myself from moving to the front of the line if I'm turning. By sitting behind a car or two, I guess I get a little protection and if I take off I can sit on their bumper until I get through the turn.

Opinions?

Bike Gremlin

I usually wait behind one car. If I'm first, I make room for a car to pass me (while waiting, not when it's green). That way I don't slow anybody down. I stay behind the first car, in the right side of the left turning lane. That way I can go parallel with the car if they start too slow.

hatrack71

Find a safe place for a track stance. Ususally behind a vehicle if possible. If one is coming up on me and I'm approaching a light or stop sign, I'll safely slip right and slow down to get behind the traffic and then slip back into the middle of the lane right behind them. Then I can just follow the vehicles cue most of the time. My town is not bike friendly at all so you have to put the hammer down to get across some spots. More like a war zone. Probably why no one commutes here. I don't think cyclists are really appreciated on the road here.

kickstart

I just take my place in line, and signal my intentions like I would for any other vehicle then there's no confusion.

Steely Dan

+1

joeyduck

+2

fietsbob

On The right side & Turning Left ? striped Bike lane on the street? You still can Be right Hooked
By Trucks as soon as the light turns If they dont look for YOU.

In My Small town I was given a PD warning to not ride the cross walk with the green light .

so I took up turning Right making a 180 'U-ey' then crossing with the green in the traffic lane ..

Heavy traffic? Octogenarian Geriatric Florida drivers? Use the Square Corner Left ... green light, wait for it.

stop on the far side of the street wait for the Green Light on that cross street , Then GO .

corrado33

If I'm turning left and there is a left turning lane I take my place in line. Too much confusion if I ride beside the cars in the left turn lane. People don't know how to turn correctly, I'll be as safe as I can be.

rmfnla

I firmly believe in NOT taking place in line; always thought that's a good way to get rear-ended.

I go to the front on the right side of the left turn lane and wait slightly in front of the first car.

I also signal my intention to turn.

If the oncoming driver is too stupid to deal with that hopefully they will figure it out after I've made the turn and the world hasn't ended...

PatrickGSR94

Better to move to the left turn lane during a gap between platoons than to try to filter up between stopped traffic. What if the green arrow AND green lights for your direction come on at the same time, and the straight traffic you're filtering between starts moving? Not a good situation.

At a gap in platoons of traffic, signal left, move to the left turn lane, and then if you're the first in line you can wait towards the right side of the left turn lane. That will put you over into the right lane on the "receiving" street after you've made your turn. One tip I was taught also is to use your right hand as you're turning to signal to oncoming traffic that may be turning right on red, that they need to wait until after you turn. Make eye contact where necessary.

alan s 

I'll go to the front of the line and move as far forward and to the right side of the left turn lane as safely possible. When the light turns green or even slightly before if there is no cross traffic, I'll slowly pedal and let all the turning cars pass so I don't need to deal with them again. Oncoming turning traffic seems to get the message, as do the cars turning with me.

Leisesturm

What makes you think they think you are going to go straight through from the left turn lane? They "freeze" because if you have a left turn arrow they don't. Maybe left turners opposite you will get an arrow at the same time you do, the lead car might hang back to see how wide you make your turn... no biggie. Better that than he clips you going through.

Personally I get as close to the intersection as possible. I'll wait behind the very first car but not directly behind. I'm always a little to the right. Even in fairly bike friendly Portland, if you are fifth person in line you are not going to make it through the intersection. The car behind you will be convinced that he could have made it if you weren't in his way. I've been screamed at, cussed out, horned, everything but hit, by drivers losing it as the signal times out. If I'm not in their way, its on them as to why they didn't make it through.

aERonAUtical96

The right hand side of the left turning lane. I'm in the turning lane.

I don't cross in between cars if they are stopped. If I somehow get stuck on the right I proceed through the light, stop on the far side and use the crosswalk to start going in the new direction. I usually try to make eye contact. Today, the old lady was waiving me through as she thought I was going strait for some reason, even though I was in the turn lane. I then signaled to her. If I do see someone kinda "freeze", I will signal to let them know my intentions.

I think this will be my new strategy now. Sit behind the first car, off to the right and proceed with them through the intersection.

MikeRides

If I'm going straight, i take the lane so cars can get by me to the right (or left, if there's a left turn lane). If there's already a car stopped, I get behind them - on the left not directly behind their tailpipe

mcours2006

+3

I used to go up to the front, but the more I ride the more I feel like I should follow the same rules as every other vehicle on the road. On my route the extra time doesn't make much difference. I think drivers have more respect for you when you obey the same rules that they.

alan s 

Going to the front is following the same rules. They pass you, you pass them. No rule says passing a car or bike in the same lane as you is wrong. Why wait behind cars if they are stopped? Seems pointless.

mstateglfr 

Nailed it for me. I dont road ride a huge amount, probably average 10mi a week when there isnt snow, but I try to follow the road rules as much as possible. Riding past 12 cars waiting to turn left and effectively creating 2 vehicles in the same lane isnt an approach I want to take to road riding.

mstateglfr 

I actually avoid large busy intersections where I have to turn left and will seek out a side road where I can turn onto the busy road I want to get to either before or after the large intersection, so I am instead riding straight as I pass thru the large intersection. All that is to say I am probably not an authority on this issue...at all.
But I do drive, and get annoyed when motorcycles slide between cars since they arent supposed to pass a vehicle while in the same lane as that vehicle. Applying that to bikes isnt unreasonable.

Darth Lefty 

Lane splitting or filtering is not legal most places in the States. Here in California it is legal between dotted line traffic lanes, but going up the side of a left turn lane counts as passing on the right and is illegal.

That said, people do it all the time. I live in an area where bikes are common enough that it doesn't confuse anyone.

kickstart

Because leapfrog is a silly game to play, and a waste of effort.

CliffordK

I do a little bit of everything, and it will depend on the intersection.

If there are 1 or 2 cars waiting for the signal, I'll just "take the lane", and pull in behind those cars, or sometimes pull in behind, staying at the right rear quarter panel of the cars.

If there are a dozen cars, I'll often pass them to the front of the line

However, it also depends on the intersection.

Knowing the order of the light sequence is important. Will the turn lane or the straight lane get the first green?

If my left turn leads into a right bike path, then I'll proceed straight through the intersection, aiming at the line of straight through cars on the opposite direction, then take a sharp left. This allows cars to cut around the corner and pass me if they wish. Lining up on the right side of the turn lane helps with this approach (and sometimes I'll pass cars to get a good starting position).

On the other hand, if my left turn leads to a median strip bike path, then I'll just pull in behind the last car, on the left side of the turn lane. Once the oncoming traffic clears (and no oncoming turning traffic is possible), then on green, I cut into the oncoming traffic lane and head towards the bike lane. That allows the cars familiar with the intersection to pass on the right, and my intentions become clear to everyone.

I've got one light that often turns to a blinking yellow. I just take my place in line. When traffic clears, I go.

My biggest issue is when I pull into a turn lane, and am unable to trip the signal. I'll often go once the traffic gets very clear. But, then there are those cars that choose to stop 50 feet behind me, and nobody trips the signal. I have to wave them forward to get onto the switch

cyccommute 

If you are going to move to the front of the line and then let all the turning cars pass, why go to the front of the line? You still end up waiting for the cars to get around you and all you manage to do in the mean time is confuse people.

But according to your post, you are waiting for the cars. You are just waiting in front of them.

Exactly. The cars are going to pass you once they get past the light and, in the description above, the cars are passing alan s anyway while he's in the intersection. By getting in the lane behind the last car in line, I can control the cars behind me when I start to cross the intersection. No one is having to swing inward around me nor am I standing still beside a moving line of cars if the left signal light hasn't changes or there is no left signal.

More importantly, I'm where cars can see me and expect to see me.

mcours2006

While it's true that cars likely passed you in order to get in front of you at the light while you were still moving, but I can accept that because I am a slower moving vehicle. When we are all stopped I take the entire lane behind cars waiting to turn, essentially telling the drivers behind me that this is my space; do not try to pull up beside me. That has happened a few times when I've left a bit too much space on the left, and I get quite annoyed. So now I just stop right in the middle of the lane. As soon as I've safely made the turn I drop off to the right again.

I'm sure what you do is fine too, but I if I am driver and I see a bike pulling up beside me, even though there's not a whole lot of room I might get a bit annoyed by it.

Walter S

^^^Exactly^^^

You can safely make a wide left turn this way and let cars by without putting yourself in danger. The worse thing to do is get far back in a line at the red light. It turns green and there can be something of a stampede as cars race to get thru the turn signal. It's not fun riding in front of that herd IMO.

old's'cool

I adjust my route so I don't have left turns at busy intersections (as much as possible). I have not experienced the issue mentioned in the OP. I ride in the 'burbs and the boonies, so that may be the reason I have not experienced this.