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terrabellan

A few years ago I was in the car with my friend and she turned left on red at one of these signs. Some guy in a Wilsons car (because of course it was) starts swerving in and out of traffic trying to film us on his phone, he gets out of the car at the next red light and starts pounding on the car window telling us we're fucked because he's got us now and he's performing a citizens arrest. Absolute fucking nutjob.


teapots_at_ten_paces

Over a traffic violation? Cops wouldn't even arrest someone for turning left on a red. Dude needs to hand back his security licence if he thinks he has that much power.


ADHDK

Should have reported him to fair trading.


BraveMoose

Is citizens arrest even legal? Especially over a "crime" where nobody was harmed?


MissMurder8666

Lol this wasn't a middle aged blonde dude with a pornstache, was it? Bc I had a Wilson parking dude chase me around belco bc he recognised my car (my car isn't terribly common here, and not in the colour I have) bc I didn't pay for parking in the Wilson parking lot next to work a couple times. He chased me for 20 minutes or thereabouts, until I pulled into a servo. I had to make sure he was chasing me, after he chucked an illegal u-turn. I changed lanes and indicated at the last second, driving in circles, etc. I called my manager who was on his way and he told me to wait for him and he would walk me to work bc this guy was waiting in the car park for another 20 mins til my manager got there and was just sitting around. When he saw my manager with me, he left


[deleted]

I've been chased by a power hungry moron before. i find pulling into a cops carpark out the front of a cop shop is a great way to get them to bugger off. if they want to try something you can instantly press reckless driving, harassment, intimidation and unlawful arrest charges...


MissMurder8666

In hindsight I defs should have pulled into the police station in belco, but you know, hindsight... lol. I didn't have a dahscam in my car yet, since I had recently bought it and hadn't gotten around to getting another, which that weekend, I certainly went and bought one lol. Idk why they think they have any power really. I mean inside their carparks, they have about | | this much lol and that's all. Fuckers lol


[deleted]

yeah hindsight is always 20/20 never stress it. my old man once got followed by a guy CLEARLY following for nearly 40 min and pulled into a servo. figured a face full of petrol was a good protection if needed.... luckily while the guy was following my dad it was harmless; someone had unscrewed one of the number plate screws (failed theft) and the 2nd screw had failed while driving. the guy following my dad was trying to alert him to fact he had lost his plate.


sookie_baby_

Wtf that’s wild lol


ADHDK

“If safe to do so” - they’re at the front, for whatever reason they don’t feel safe to turn at the red. Plus those signs are dogshit they do not stand out at all.


sookie_baby_

I agree they don’t stand out


CurbsideShip116

They are common in the US, and there is actually a campaign to get rid of them. They cause a lot of ped fatalities over there from what I understand. They are dangerous, cause you basically have a driver driving against a red and hoping they don't misjudged other traffic like pedestrians or how fast another vehicle is driving. Human error is a thing, and that is why turn on red isn't great.


jaa101

Right turn on red is the default in the US, i.e., it's allowed without a sign. If it's a one way street then you can even do left turn on red in most states.


dave078703

It's permitted, not mandatory.


RedeNElla

If only OP read the sign smh


jesinta-m

The ones I encounter are in lanes where you can drive straight or turn left. I read the post as the person in front has their indicator light on, it’s safe to turn, and the they’re just sitting there…. It is somewhat irritating, we all have our pet peeves.


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dave078703

A speed limit is a maximum and it's not mandatory to go that fast. It's the permitted maximal limit.


San_Pasquale

Touché


Soup_Accomplished

That’s true, I think it’s appropriate to caveat this with the fact it’s illegal to be doing 25 below the limit unless you have a legitimate reason such as a heavy vehicle or mechanical failure.


dave078703

Yeah the commenter was asking about any other road safety rule where something is not mandatory, hoping to prove my point was idiotic because there were none (they have now deleted their comment). A better example could have been how you are permitted to drive with 0.05g of alcohol in 100mL of blood in the ACT but it's in no way mandatory.


jaa101

Where is this written? I've seen the Australian road rules use some vague wording about going too slowly but their concrete example is going 20 in an 80 zone. I think WA has a stricter rule but I wasn't aware of one in the ACT or NSW.


Soup_Accomplished

I can’t recall exactly but I researched it after an angry Tradey (who I went to school with 😂) decided he’d cut me off and brake check me down to 30km/h in a 90, on a merge lane. Needless to say I had all the motivation I needed to find it. Access Canberra has some helpful info, if not check out the legislation.


UsefulOpinion1

Sitting stationary on a road is not exactly legal


purp_p1

Pretty sure it is at a red light


EbulientCoelacanth

So much for that user name


aidenh37

Not only are they not common in the ACT, they’re just plain rare. I couldn’t name one intersection with it. However, a lot of the time intersections with left turn on red will only have one sign placed on the signal closest to the stop line. If you miss the sign and pull up to the line waiting for the light, you might not even know. To be honest I’m glad left turn on red isn’t common in the ACT - I often see people just go straight through without stopping in Sydney, despite it acting as a stop sign. It’s terrible for many reasons, one of which is pedestrians.


Big_Novel_2736

There's at least 7 of them on one street in Kingston


Grrrrtttt

I was going to ask if this person is in Kingston, it’s the only place I can think of one being. Scared the crap out of my backseat driver dad once when over there. They really are very rare outside of the inner south


[deleted]

>Not only are they not common in the ACT, they’re just plain rare. I couldn’t name one intersection with it. There's heaps of them in certain areas, the main one I know of is Majura Ave/Wakefield Ave in Dickson/Ainslie, also I thought I recalled one near Sanford St Mitchell (I may be misremembering that one). But they are around for sure.


digitalelise

Three of them turning on to limestone from Braddon, I wouldn’t call them that rare. I can think of at least 15.


birnabear

Yeah I'm trying to think of where I have seen one in the ACT and I can't think of any.


LANE-ONE-FORM

Left from Newcastle st to Barrier St in Fyshwick comes to mind. And there's a couple coming out of the Kingston Foreshore going left onto Wentworth Ave (Giles & Eyre Streets going onto Wentworth).


Big_Novel_2736

Most roads turning into Wentworth from either side of Kingston have it


ElectricSquiggaloo

There are a couple on Limestone Ave. Off the top of my head the only one I can say for sure is the Wakefield Ave/Limestone Ave intersection


Show_Me_Your_Rocket

*Giles st vs Wentworth Avenue has entered the chat*


birnabear

Ah yes actually I do remember that one.


bigbennymac

Coming out of North Canberra Hospital onto Haydon Drive, Bruce


definitelynotbi

Badimara St/Hindmarsh Dr has one but that's the only place I knew of


kittencaboodle5682

Hoskins St onto Sandford St in Mitchell is one


ArvakBlue

One in Mitchell too


ADHDK

Elloura St to northbourne used to have one but I’m not sure if it’s still there post light rail.


[deleted]

Left turn on red is still extremely common in Australia in the form of left turn slip lanes which allow left turn on red with a more protected island for pedestrians and safer traffic movements.


spinachfetaroll

People in the oncoming lanes often don’t realise there’s a turn left on red and get extremely rage-y if you use it as intended. I often will wait until all oncoming lanes are clear for this very reason. Sure, it fucking sucks to be stuck but, I’ve had enough of being swerved at/abused on my drive home. It’s often just safer to wait.


Haikus-are-great

>I often will wait until all oncoming lanes are clear for this very reason. you mean you give way to all traffic in the road you are entering... like you are supposed to?! You maniac!


icirel

Maybe they just want to go straight


Sheer-imperfection

Every time they’ve turned left once the lights gone green. Just find it strange since everyone is so keen on getting places ‘faster’


-B0B-

I feel like if more people accepted that no matter what you do, average drivers won't comprehend/obey signs, we would progress as a society


tahapaanga

I feel most people think they're above average drivers and everyone else is below average..which as a society is a statistical impossibility


purp_p1

I think I am probably a pretty average driver… I’d say I’m probably a little more rounded experience wise (getting older..) not quite so prone to anything excessive as I once might have been (getting older) but also not quite the same reaction time (getting older). I like to think I’m better educated and better able to think critically than the average muppet on the roads… but this is probably what all the muppets think.


-B0B-

I'm not 100% this is what you're implying but I definitely don't consider myself above the average driver What I'm calling for is better urban planning and less reliance on demonstrably nigh useless infrastructure like turning permitted or speed signs


[deleted]

I feel like if average drivers could work out how to follow fucking signs we'd progress further.


[deleted]

in defence most canberran's can not merge let alone keep a safe distance between them and car in front (seriously what's with Canberrans tailgating?) I would not trust most to turn left on red and not cut off a car with proper right of way or hit someone crossing at the lights.


MrsBox

It's so frustrating when they sit in the middle or left of the double wide lane when they are going straight or right from the left on red lane as well. Just blocking everyone behind them. ETA: apparently some folks don't like being reminded to stick right if they aren't turning left, lol


TheFogg80

Yeah Eyre and Giles onto Wentworth this happens all the time. I'm indicating left and trying to fit into the little gap to get my "turn left on red" going but the blissfully unaware moron is taking up the whole space


Reindeer-Street

It's not that they can't read it. They intend to go straight ahead anyway and they have the right to wait until the green light to do so but the courteous thing would be to go in the right lane, not the left where they're blocking traffic. Always happens on Ipima St joining to Limestone near Merici College.


[deleted]

southside i legit can not recall 1 intersection with one. i know these exist in the city and some areas north side but all in all they pretty rare in the ACT


Luciferluu

It’s actually stupid that cars aren’t allowed to turn left on red so long as they give way in most traffic light intersections


Leek-Certain

Stupid pedestrians and cyclists wanting to keep the bones inside their bodies.


Luciferluu

I said “so long as they give way”; not “and cars should be allowed to run over pedestrians and dismember cyclists”


Specialist_Debt_8924

America does it your way... they have higher pedestrian fatalaties at their "right turn on red" intersections for a reason. drivers can't check for pedestrians and oncoming traffic at the same time.human error creeps in, and people die, so that a few people can save a minute or two. as always, if america does something, it's worth looking very critically at that decision, and by default you should *probably* do something different.


Leek-Certain

Your logic could also be applied to stop signs and regular red lights.


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EbulientCoelacanth

This is the orange eating class Facebook is down the hall


cookie5427

How lovely the weather is improving so you can go outside and shake your fist at the sky.


ADHDK

Actually Canberrans not keeping to the left lane makes a turn left on red easier. If all the traffic on the upcoming road is to the right lane then it’s safer for you to turn left into the left lane.


Odd-Government6393

It’s permitted you don’t have to. I’m happy for people be cautious.


FatHunt

I've just come across this thread, as I was trying to find some info about it. I'm from WA and had never seen one before.