Turning left into a driveway/side street from a two-lane highway

[abefroman329]

I've never seen it and would never do it myself.  I'm not going to risk an accident and a failure-to-yield ticket just so the person behind me doesn't have to wait a few minutes.

Also, if traffic was high enough that traffic backups behind the vehicle turning left were common, wouldn't there be a left-turn lane there?

[jakeroot]

In some states, a TWLTL is specifically described in statute as a place to turn either into or out of–not out of only.

This is news to me. Which ones?

Hahaha the opposite is news to me! There's places where that's not OK? I've never driven anywhere that didn't use the center lane for turning and merging.

WA RCW 46.61.290: A two-way left turn lane is near the center of the roadway set aside for use by vehicles making left turns in either direction from or into the roadway

[MNHighwayMan]

Regarding TWLTLs, using them to merge is definitely not a practice I was taught, nor was it something I saw much until I started driving outside Minnesota more, particularly in the South. I still don't see it hardly ever here in Iowa either, and I guess I've just assumed that it wasn't technically legal.

[US 89]

I think you Minnesota drivers are too nice. I was taught in driver's ed in Utah not to do it, which may be a good defensive move anyway. But I was curious, so I went and looked at the Utah legislative code and found these:

(73)   "Two-way left turn lane" means a lane:
(a)   provided for vehicle operators making left turns in either direction;
(b)   that is not used for passing, overtaking, or through travel; and
(c)   that has been indicated by a lane traffic-control device that may include lane markings.

(3)   Two-way left turn lanes:
(a)   where a two-way left turn lane is provided, a left turn may not be made from any other lane;
(b)   a vehicle may not be driven in the two-way left turn lane except when preparing for or making:
(i)   a left turn from or into the roadway; or
(ii)   a U-turn except when prohibited by a traffic-control device;
(c)   
(i)   except as provided under Subsection (3)(c)(ii), the operator of a vehicle intending to turn left may not enter a two-way left turn lane more than 500 feet prior to making the turn;
(ii)   if traffic in the two-way left turn lane extends beyond 500 feet, the operator of a vehicle intending to turn left may enter the two-way left turn lane immediately upon reaching the last vehicle in the two-way left turn lane;
(d)   the operator of a vehicle that has turned left into the two-way left turn lane may not travel in the lane more than 500 feet unless the operator intends to turn left and Subsection (3)(c)(ii) applies; and
(e)   the operator of a vehicle may not travel straight through an intersection in a two-way left turn lane.

So sure enough, it's legal. Who knew.

[J N Winkler]

Regarding TWLTLs, using them to merge is definitely not a practice I was taught, nor was it something I saw much until I started driving outside Minnesota more, particularly in the South. I still don't see it hardly ever here in Iowa either, and I guess I've just assumed that it wasn't technically legal.

The legality of using TWLTLs to stage left turns out of the driveway or side road varies from one state (or Canadian province) to another.  E.g., it is legal in Kansas and Ontario, but illegal in Ohio.

In jurisdictions where this kind of staging is legal, TWLTLs seem to be much wider than in others where it is not legal.  However, I don't know that anyone has tried to check legality and typical TWLTL width for all 50 US states and 13 Canadian provinces/territories.

Previous discussion of left-turn staging on this forum

[hbelkins]

^^^
Yes, we've had the discussion on TWLTLs before.

And I didn't know that you could pull out into them and then merge until I saw a graphic that the Kansas DOT put out a few years ago.

[kphoger]

In some states, a TWLTL is specifically described in statute as a place to turn either into or out of–not out of only.

This is news to me. Which ones?

Any of them that follow the Uniform Vehicle Code.

ARTICLE VI-TURNING AND STARTING
AND
SIGNALS ON STOPPING AND TURNING

§ 11-601-Required position and method of turning

The driver of a vehicle intending to turn shall do so as follows:

[...]

(d) Two-way left turn lanes - Where a special lane for making left turns by drivers proceeding in opposite directions has been indicated by official traffic-control devices:

[...]

2. A vehicle shall not be driven in the lane except when preparing for or making a left turn from or into the roadway or when preparing for or making a U turn when otherwise permitted by law.

[Kulerage]

Haven't ever seen it done. The highly-wooded rural areas we've got in this part of the country block sight lines, and often times the roads aren't perfectly straight.

[davewiecking]

Seen it often on the Delmarva Penninsula, done both as a favor to following traffic, and an easy way to get to a mailbox.

[CardInLex]

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/statutes/statute.aspx?id=6370

Section 11b. For Kentucky the law states the center turn lane is for turning from or merging into traffic.

[roadfro]

It's common, if not expected, in this part of the country (ID/MT/WY/NV) where sightlines are good.

Late to the party on this, but I've never seen this in Nevada. But admittedly I don't do rural driving regularly. Most rural routes I've driven have been modified to add turn lane at any major drives.

[Ian]

Going back to the original topic, it's interesting to learn that this maneuver is common in other parts of the country. In Maine, I've noticed that it's more common for drivers to do this when there is no shoulder for following traffic to use to go around the turning vehicle. That being said, there have been many times I've seen it performed on roads with wide enough shoulders for that to not be an issue.

[sparker]

Pretty damn uncommon out here in CA.  The variant of this that seems to occur more often is a diagonal move across the opposing lane when clear -- but without any significant travel in the opposing lane -- and this is done primarily when there's a shoulder across the road that's safely out of that opposing lane (like previously mentioned, this is done mainly to reach mailboxes, gate locks, and other roadside points).  However, in neighborhood streets without center division paint, vehicles will often simply shoot right down the middle, even when there's enough width for two side-by-side lanes (and this certainly is not a CA exclusive -- it's done everywhere, particularly in older neighborhoods with narrower streets (and few parking restrictions).

[kphoger]

The variant of this that seems to occur more often is a diagonal move across the opposing lane when clear -- but without any significant travel in the opposing lane

This is actually how I usually do it in urban environments.