Originally Posted by
MereMortal
I think there are two left turns on my daily commute.
I am slow. I ride a slow, crappy, heavy bike-usually strapped down with various things like work clothes, makeup bag, and groceries. I feel almost rude sometimes on a road with no bike lanes.
I'm also in OC, where nobody has patience for anything and most people will gladly run you over just because it's Tuesday.
If I know it's a short light, I'll try to get to the front of the line, on the right of the car. That way, I lessen the chance of still being in the intersection when the light goes red.
If it's a long light, I'll wait my turn behind a car, because I know I'll have time to safely cross the intersection. Positioning is really a matter of not being in a blind spot/watching out for people who can't drive and make unnecessarily wide turns.
Yours is a logic that I just don't get when it comes to filtering either on the right or, since it appears to be a thing now, on left turns. If, as you say, "people will gladly run you over just because it's Tuesday" what do you accomplish by filtering to the front of the line? Do you want to give them another shot at running you over?
In most of my commuting, I'm being passed by cars all the time. Often I will catch them at a stoplight. If I filter to the front, they just have to pass me all over again. If the motorists in your area drive with such murderous intent, why give them a second bite at the apple? Additionally, I would think that someone shoving their way to the head of the line would be more likely to set off their murderous tendencies.
Think of it this way, if you were in a car at a left turn and someone in another car came along side of you, pulled in front of you and tried to get around the corner before you did, how would you feel towards the other driver? I couldn't think of anything that would more instantaneously set off road rage than that kind of boneheaded maneuver.