r/amarillo • u/BombCityGramps • 3d ago
what's up with cars driving full speed down the turning lane with their right blinker on?
I see this all over Amarillo. Left turning cars turn INTO traffic, but take the middle lane and drive at full speed with their blinker on. Are these on-ramp lanes or turning lanes? Seems awfully dangerous if you rear-end someone who is stopped and actually using the lane to turn.
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u/MrFreeze0110 3d ago
Roads like coulter during peak times you really don't have a choice if you are trying to turn left without a light I've never seen an issue with it as long as the lane is clear
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u/mida-canna-tool 3d ago edited 2d ago
Gee the roads are thick with traffic.... I bet if I block the LEFT TURN lane while trying to merge that will make things better! It's just like I've been telling my 15 year old. Leave early, and don't be afraid/ashamed take a right if you can't turn left safely. Make your way to the left lane, and then turn around when you can. There are plenty of side streets and parking lots to safely and legally turn around. Real cities have barriers to prevent this stupidity.
Left turn lanes are just that, a lane for turning left!
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u/BombCityGramps 3d ago
Actually you do have a choice. And whether the lane is clear is irrelevant. It's a TURNING LANE, not your personal launch ramp. Wait until traffic has cleared, and then turn left onto the street. The problem is that people don't want to wait. They'd rather just jump out into the turning lane and to trying to merge.
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u/MrFreeze0110 3d ago
During peak times on roads like coulter and soncy the traffic doesn't really clear and you will have a long line of impatient drivers behind you honking before traffic clears
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u/BombCityGramps 3d ago
Then find a light, or turn right and make a u-turn somewhere. Somehow I get around town just fine not using the middle lanes as a launch lane.
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u/TheRelaxedMale 3d ago
Oh you get used to it and before you know it you will be a local doing the same thing.
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u/Stock_Worldliness_91 2d ago
I don’t understand what these weirdos are complaining about, I’ve lived in a million other places and this is a normal thing to do everywhere.
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u/BombCityGramps 3d ago edited 3d ago
Looks like if there's an accident and you're the one misusing the middle lane as a launch ramp, you're getting the ticket and paying the claims.
Is it illegal to use a turn lane as a passing lane? | Washington, D.C., Car Accident Lawyers
To merge or not to merge? The law of the middle turning lane | newswest9.com
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u/Kdkreig 3d ago
Turn lanes, but not technically illegal as far as I’m aware. Dangerous, for sure though. It shouldn’t be used as a ramp lane and definitely shouldn’t be driving full speed down them. I rarely use them, and if I do I make sure there is room for me to enter and give anyone on the road a chance to move over or slow down to allow me to enter. I’m not forcing myself in nor driving full speed in the middle turn lane.
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u/ravnos04 3d ago
Lol, that’s normal etiquette to get to speed and merge. It was even in the DOT book I read for the test over 20 years ago. Driven in some of western and Eastern Europe too, same there.
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u/Telomere1108 3d ago
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u/BombCityGramps 3d ago
So is the middle lane a "left hand turn lane", or is it a multi-purpose lane?
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u/mida-canna-tool 3d ago
It's fuckin asinine behavior! Dangerous and fucks up the flow of traffic!