About a year ago, while watching cross traffic fly by at 50 miles an hour as I sat at the front of the line in the left turn lane of a busy intersection during a red light, my brain, always one to jump ahead and go, "What if..." suddenly seized on a horrific scenario.

What if this moron turning left on the green cuts it too close and gets whacked by one of those fast-moving cars in the oncoming traffic? Well...it was pretty easy to predict what would happen to me. The car turning left would get hit and helicopter right through where I stood.

That was the last time I sat in a left turn lane.

Since then, I have developed multiple strategies. But, the one I like best is cutting over, across the opposite lane, where from I then cross the road counter-flow to traffic. This works really well when there is a sidewalk. It even comes with some added advantages like being able to go on the red when cross traffic clears a bit and the line of cars waiting to turn left on the green make their turns.

It's a bit unorthodox, in that I have to zig and zag a bit. But, I see it as infinitely safer than standing exposed in that left turn lane like a sitting duck.

I think you're worried too much.

Anywhere you are on the roadway, a car could veer off course and smash a bicycle.

If you are #1 in a line of cars, then you're a bit exposed. Further back in the line, and you aren't.

But, use your judgement for safety. There is one left turn lane that I hang left on aiming at a median strip bike path. A couple of days ago the light changed red at a bad time and left me very exposed, so I headed for an island on the left side of the road across the road for a crosswalk. So, unintentionally similar to your zig-zag.

OTOH, if you're up front, oncoming traffic can see that there's a bicycle in the line. That can keep an oncoming right-on-red from trying to shoot the gap that you're in. I do prefer to be second in line at these so a car can trip any sensors and bet the target/deterrent for any cross traffic running the fresh red, but I tend to stay right on the lead car's bumper when it goes so that hopefully anyone waiting to turn right won't get moving fast enough to hit me if they're letting the car get through.

Also, second in line, if the first is a passenger car, I can generally stand up and make eye contact with potentially conflicting traffic before the light changes to determine whether they've noticed I'm there or not, and plan accordingly.

Deeper back in the line is my preference. If I come to a light where the LT lane is already a few cars deep, I stay in the lane. My favorite is when I approach the intersection and the light has already changed, meaning I now need to speed up to keep in the flow.

I have that habit. As an engineer, I see stuff. Sometimes this is a good thing. Sometimes it probably isn't.

Depending on the size of the intersection, the car would have slowed down immensely by the time it'd get to you. On my local 4 lane road (2 each way) if I were sitting in the left turn lane and someone did what you said, they'd have to slide 40-50 feet to get to me. Sure, it'd hurt, but I don't think you'd be seriously injured. Now, if the left turning car got plowed into by a semi, that's another story. Mass wins in accidents.

You should be a risk assessment officer. Seems to be your calling.

lol...good one. It's actually not very much different from what I actually do.

As for the intersection. This is a pretty tight two lane. If I spit, I could land the gewb right on the windshield of the person turning left. If he gets hit halfway through that turn, he's sliding right through where I would be standing.

OP, Cliffordk is right. That you are worried too much. I don't agree with his zig-zag method. But that is me. Like he said, "use your judgment for safety".

My approach to a scenario of that nature(waiting for green in left-turn lane). Is to pay attention to the traffic in the oncoming outside lane, while the traffic in the oncoming inside lane(and oncoming middle lane if it exists) is easy to see. It is easy to focus on the vehicles in the lane(s) you can see. Instead of focusing on the outside lane with traffic you can't see. Just be more vigilant about paying attention.

Seems like all the zig-zagging is a lot more likely to result in trouble than the scenario it's trying to avoid. Lots of turning, lots of doing unexpected stuff, lots of having to look in multiple directions to watch for trouble.

My only real concern about waiting on a red light while in the left turn lane,is being able to trigger the light.

Definitely comes with a price. But, I guess I prefer to be in control of my destiny more than I do being a sitting duck.

I wonder if you ever go on commercial flights. You've got no control, but the odds are with you by a long ways, especially compared to the typical drive to/from airports.

We all spend time as sitting ducks. some of us deal with it rationally, others take actions that increase the risk but feels good.

I have a few left turn strategies, each tailored to suit the specific intersection:

• *We have a few starfish/multiple-direction type intersections. For those, I prefer to get behind one or two lead cars in the left turn lane and follow them. I can still see above their roofs (unless it's a truck, which rarely happens) and watch for errant oncoming traffic.
• *For a couple of left turn scenarios without a protected left turn arrow, and busy oncoming traffic, I'll take a series of right turns to get where I'm going. I'm not in that big a hurry.
• *For a couple of intersections where the light won't change for a bicycle, I'll try to wait behind a car. If the traffic is very sparse, I'll wait through one entire change of lights and then ride through the red when there's a clear and safe break in traffic. No choice where the lights won't change for a bike, and there's no pedestrian accessible button. (First time at one particular light I waited more than five minutes (checking my watch) and several complete light changes, without a left turn signal. That's more than reasonable, unless the city plans to install showers and cots for overnight camping and a take-a-number machine for the next available green light.)

Yep. Using a variety of strategies tailored for specific intersections makes sense.

I very often use the "turn right to go left" technique myself. This is especially the case when I need to turn left where there is no light. I stay to the right, turn into a driveway and wait for traffic to clear so I can cross the road. I then double back to the street I need, making a right turn onto it.

Actually, no. I usually drive if the trip takes less than 12 hours. It's less a matter of fear of flying than it is hating the process. Security, parking, shuttles, waiting, connecting, limits on luggage, etc., all those things make flying annoying.

You do it your way. I do it mine.

I also encounter a few intersections like this where a bicycle will not trip the light. Although I used to wait through an entire light cycle before proceeding, knowing that I can't affect the light if there's a clear and safe break in traffic I just go. I'm usually overwhelmed with guilt, but it passes quickly.

I'm glad to see this thread as it shows people being deliberate about their cycling. I put some thought into safe cycling including left turns in traffic. This is helpful to newbies who have not yet worked out such details.

To be completely honest I don't usually ride in the street (depending on where I'm riding); when I do if I stick to the right shoulder so I'm not in the way. If I ever have to turn left I use the crosswalk and wait for the light change. Is it legal? I have no idea honestly. I would rather not risk serious injury than to do what I legally can in an environment that is unforgiving to me as a cyclist. Better safe than right.

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left."

That aside:

• If there's a left-turn arrow on the traffic light AND a left-turn only lane -- and provided I can safely cross any straight-through lanes -- I'll take that route, placing myself either first in line or second (depending on whether or not my weight will trip any light-change sensor).
• If the previous conditions don't exist, I'll make a right turn at the light, followed by a U-turn when it becomes possible and safe to do so, then wait for the green light and ride through the intersection; OR
• If there's a median strip AND I can safely move across the straight-through lanes, I'll move to the end of the median and wait for either a green light or for a break in traffic, then make the left turn.

These are all normal scenarios for making a left-turn/U-turn, given the one-after-another nature of South Florida strip malls. Needless to say (but I'll say it, anyway), I always roll with a bright, flashing tail light and head light, along with wide reflective ankle straps and a garish, high-visibility jersey.

I have used the "right turn/u turn/straight from the side road" and the "riding to the other side of the intersection and taking the crosswalk" methods of doing a left turn. But if I feel safe getting to the left turn lane, I don't usually have any problem taking a left turn from there. And if I did, then I probably wouldn't be on that road in the first place.

Well, I do tend to avoid them as much as is possible. But, with a commute, 100% bike trial riding is not an option.

I was stopped and warned, once, but not ticketed, in San Diego 30+ years ago when I did this. It was near dawn on a virtually deserted road with a light that would never change for a cyclist. And there were several of us who used that route because it was generally free of vehicle traffic early in the morning.

Usually the only time I cruise through red lights is when riding with a local critical mass group once a month. I'm never really comfortable with that but the group leaders are careful and it's one of those "lesser of two evils" situations to keep a group safely together. Usually there are fewer than a couple dozen riders and the routes tend to avoid most lights.

can someone do a paint as to how youre afraid of getting hit in a left turning lane, must be me but for the life i cant visualize it

I'm also adaptable, and learn about each intersection.

For those left turns where I have to end up on the right, I'll align myself right, and tend to head straight towards oncoming traffic, then take a sharp left. That allows traffic to move around me to the left in the intersection.

One left turn dumps me onto a median strip, so I align left then with a green light, cut across the incoming traffic lane (if clear), again getting out of the way of traffic as soon as possible.

I detest the inability to trip lights, but I try as hard as I can to do it, while also waiting for a "hole" in traffic.

If the only "vehicle", I'll stand over the light trigger if visible behind the crosswalk. The greatest danger is probably left turning traffic from the cross street (which I would watch). If a car comes up behind me, I might move forward into a lightly used crosswalk, hoping the car behind me pulls far enough forward to trigger the lights (here in Eugene, they'll sometimes stop 20 feet behind me and miss the triggers, so I may have to wave them forward).

I've seen some crazy people make some crazy turns, while I was on a sidewalk. I've also seen people who roll through stop signs at intersections because they don't expect someone with a bicycle to be in the street. Honestly I would rather not deal with ignorant people behind the wheel who could end my life in seconds as opposed to exercising my right to use the road.