The in basket: Bill Rowe writes to say, “I travel on Long Lake
Road often. When I travel south toward Sedgwick, I
must stop before crossing or making the right turn. Quite often as
I turn right onto Sedgwick, I have to wait for a car that is making
a left turn onto Sedgwick.
“Doesn’t the left-turn driver (have to) yield to the driver
making the right turn?” Bill asks.
The in basket: Bill Rowe writes to say, “I travel on Long Lake Road
often. When I travel south toward Sedgwick, I
must stop before crossing or making the right turn. Quite often as
I turn right onto Sedgwick, I have to wait for a car that is making
a left turn onto Sedgwick.
“Doesn’t the left-turn driver (have to) yield to the driver
making the right turn?” Bill asks. “A driver making the right turn
is looking up the hill to the left for oncoming traffic and not
watching the driver opposite. This seems hazardous. I haven’t seen
any accidents yet but, I’m sure it will happen or has happened and
I’m not aware of them.”
The out basket: Yes, the law requires that the left turner yield in
that situation, to anyone coming straight across or turning
right.
But there and other places where heavy cross-traffic can create
quite a wait, many drivers adopt a “That’s long enough” attitude
and go for it. And in my experience, drivers with the right of way
there often know what the wait is like for the other guy and
accommodate the left turner, sometimes even waving him or her to go
ahead.
But should there be conflict and collision, the left turner would
be at fault for not yielding, no longer how long he or she had
waited.
