left turn lane

[itchin]

They've done some pretty stupid shit in San Marcos at aquarina springs and 35. . Now at Hopkins too. Very confusing.

 

[Bozz10mm]

When did the "left turn only" lane become an acceleration lane for merging right?
I thought it was a yankee thing due to airmen being transferred in. I guess not
Hell, the city cops are doing it too now. Head on collisions are becoming common.

Irritates me to no end. Inconsiderate bastards. I can't even use the damned lane for turning left anymore.

End rant.

Irritates the heck out of me too, and it's kinda scary. If they are coming out of a side street on your left and turning left, you don't know if they are going for the center lane, or for the lane you are in. They do this whether there is heavy traffic, or if I'm the only one on the road. It's not just the big cities, this happens to me everyday in Georgetown on Williams Drive.

 

[majormadmax]

The Texas Highway Man Pages - Texas Traffic Laws (and good driving habits)

 

[AustinN4]

The Texas Highway Man Pages - Texas Traffic Laws (and good driving habits)

"Center turn lanes are for use only when preparing to turn left from the main road onto a side street or driveway only. Only enter the lane just before you are ready to slow down for the turn. Also, the Federal Highway Administration's "Read Your Road" guide (link at the bottom of this page) indicates that, when turning from a side street or driveway onto the main road, you may also use this lane as a temporary refuge to wait for traffic to clear as long as you pull into the lane and wait and don't use the center turn lane as an acceleration lane. However, it is important to note that Texas law does not seem to specifically permit this action, and I have had reports that some folks have been cited for doing this and the court has upheld their citation, so I would recommend avoiding this maneuver unless you absolutely have to. Finally, although section (b)(1) above says you can use the center lane for passing, keep in mind that center lanes marked as left turn lanes cannot be used for passing as the traffic signs and pavement markings indicating that the lane is for left turns only take precedence."

 

[benenglish]

"...Finally, although section (b)(1) above says you can use the center lane for passing, keep in mind that center lanes marked as left turn lanes cannot be used for passing as the traffic signs and pavement markings indicating that the lane is for left turns only take precedence."

I haven't seen one of those three-lane roads where the center lane is completely unmarked in decades. I'm told they were fairly common 50+ years ago. They had just three lanes with white stripes. You were supposed to always stay in the right lane except when passing.

According to my dad, they were often marked with just two sets of standard, interrupted white lines. IOW, it was a lazy way to put down a road without doing all the surveying and calculating that a good civil engineer would have to do to determine lane markings like double lines for no-passing zones. When I started driving he cautioned me about them, saying he had seen more head-on collisions on that type of road back in the 1950s and 1960s than I could imagine.

 

[Bozz10mm]

The Texas Highway Man Pages - Texas Traffic Laws (and good driving habits)

This is a good read.

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

Not say'in he was correct, but I was told by an APD officer that what you described is a ticketable offense, that the center turn land was only to be used by the cars on the road where the center turn lane was. He said cars entering that street from the side were to fully enter the street and turn left without using the center turn lane. That said, what you decribed makes more sense to me as a practical matter.

There ya go. An example of the differences between the APD and here with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and what I learned in driver's ed class back in 1966 in California, before it became the Peoples' Socialist Яepublik of Kalifornia.

 

[AustinN4]

There ya go. An example of the differences between the APD and here with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and what I learned in driver's ed class back in 1966 in California, before it became the Peoples' Socialist Яepublik of Kalifornia.

I don't think it is just APD after reading the link in #23. Appears it may be a Texas thing. Requoted here for clarity:

"However, it is important to note that Texas law does not seem to specifically permit this action, and I have had reports that some folks have been cited for doing this and the court has upheld their citation, so I would recommend avoiding this maneuver unless you absolutely have to."