09-03-2018, 09:00 PM
(09-03-2018, 08:14 PM)kps Wrote:(08-31-2018, 05:12 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Was the “no right turn - train” sign lit?
I think these are a mistake, since they're unfamiliar. The relevant intersections should have distinct left-straight-right arrow signals, like any other intersection where turns have separate timing.
The right turn doesn’t have separate timing as such, being the same actual lane as the straight-through traffic. It’s just not always allowed to take the turn. Actually, that raises an interesting question: is it legal to sit waiting for the no-right to clear? If it were a regular no-turn sign it would mean that one would be required to proceed straight through the intersection. But on the other hand, a regular no-turn sign doesn’t clear after a few seconds — it stays there until taken down, normally when traffic flow through the area is being re-thought.
I suppose you could have two greens: a straight arrow and a regular circle. But then that gets back to the question of whether you can sit waiting for the no-right to clear (green circle to come on). Normally, at a green arrow, you have to go, not wait for something else to happen. In places where there are separate lights for the different directions there are also separate lanes controlled by the different lights.
In any case, familiar or not, a right-turn arrow crossed by a red line and circle means “no right turn” so nobody has any business driving who can’t understand the sign and interpret it safely. I first wrote “correctly” but changed it to “safely” because people can be excused being confused especially with unfamiliar signage; but they still have to drive safely. In general, interpreting something safely but potentially not correctly means slamming on the brakes and sitting for a while until the driver is sure of what is going on.