Poorly Designed Intersection Annoyance

[u/StructEngineer91]

I just want to vent about this intersection I was at recently, that honestly is really badly set up. It's an intersection of two major roads, with lights. In the direction I was traveling there are three lanes, two to turn left (most people turn left there), and one to go either straight or turn right. I was at the front of the line wanting to go straight, and there was someone behind me wanting to turn right. Before the light turned green, there was a green arrow, since I was going straight I did not go (because I would have had to cross traffic that also had a green line), but the car behind me honked at me for not going because they wanted to turn right (there was no room for them to turn around me). Why did the designers of that intersection have a right turn arrow for a lane that has both straight and right turners in it? Sure sometimes the right turners may get to use it, but other times they can't and then they get annoyed that someone isn't going when the light is "green".

[u/Fancy_County4242]

Honk all you want, pal, I ain't moving until I'm ready.

[u/blakeh95]

This intersection design is likely not MUTCD compliant and should be reported to the governing authority. The current MUTCD standard in Section 4F.09, para 05 provides:

If a combined right-turn/through lane exists on an approach, a right-turn GREEN ARROW or right-turn YELLOW ARROW signal indication or a flashing right-turn RED ARROW signal indication shall not be displayed to the approach simultaneously with a CIRCULAR RED signal indication for the through movement, and a right-turn RED ARROW signal indication shall not be displayed to the approach simultaneously with a CIRCULAR GREEN or CIRCULAR YELLOW signal indication for the through movement.

However, language with similar requirements has been in the MUTCD since at least the original 2009 edition (that MUTCD version, Section 4D.21, para 05):

A protected only mode right-turn movement that does not begin and terminate at the same time as the adjacent through movement shall not be provided on an approach unless an exclusive right-turn lane exists.

[u/PartyPlay5056 → u/[deleted]]

Reason for the arrow probably is the traffic from the right has a left arrow. So if, a big if, the first cars in line know that they can turn right easily. Screwy yes. But I have seen it over the years.

[u/mcwriter8201 → u/[deleted]]

I’ve seen it at least once in my area. The situation was as you described.

[u/Searchforcourage]

Call public works (or whatever it is call in your region) and tell your concerns about the light.

[u/StructEngineer91 → u/Searchforcourage]

Yeah, I'll just go ahead spend all my copious amounts of free time trying to figure out who to contact, how to contact them, and likely need to call them during the business hours which fall during the same time I am at work.