"Michigan left"

[Pew]

I was at a wedding in Pontiac, MI this weekend and noticed this type of left turns that I have never seen before. A cousin told me they're called Michigan lefts and in lieu of dedicated left turns, a driver will take a right turn and then do what is essentially a u-turn. They seem to work really well with the local drivers in keeping the very high volume of traffic moving; with them able to do the left turn on a red if there's breaks in traffic. The average Michigan driver seem to be better than every other state I've driven in and they understand the need to accelerate. I doubt this would work well in IL because we'd have people constantly pulling out into 55mph traffic and not accelerating.

Side note: I love how a lot of their highways, even state highways, are at least 70mph.

 

[dishdude]

Left turns really congest traffic, so any traffic pattern that avoids them is a plus for me.

The issue I see with this is after you make your turn, you need to cut across two lanes of traffic in a very short distance.

AZ drivers don't understand the concept of acceleration either.

 

[PF52]

Is this sort of like a New Jersey "Jughandle" turn?

 

[CKN]

We have "continuous flow" intersections. They take a little getting used to. My wife says they eliminate one traffic light cycle.

Continuous-flow intersection - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[ekrampitzjr]

This arrangement is being installed on a busy road near me. This is at an intersection that has had some really bad accidents involving left turns. I've also seen it in Virginia Beach.

 

[Vil_Riker]

It moves the left turn a little further down and adds more complications to the intersection. But the Detroit folk seem to cope with it well.

 

[rekit]

When I was working shift work there was a light on our main intersection that cycled weird on Sunday mornings. Would go 2-3 minutes red. I just wanted to go straight, so I would go right, then U turn, then another free right. This was my way around it. I didn't know it had a name.

 

[Pew]

The issue I see with this is after you make your turn, you need to cut across two lanes of traffic in a very short distance.

True, although the ones I saw were usually *far* enough from the intersection that one can comfortably go across the 2/3/4 lanes without an issue. What was truly confusing but worked great was a triple right turn, into a double michigan left turn here. I know this would 100% never be realistic in Illinois with people jumping crossing lanes.

Is this sort of like a New Jersey "Jughandle" turn?

Kinda, except the drivers after the right turn will have a dedicated left/uturn lane.

 

[Pew]

We have "continuous flow" intersections. They take a little getting used to. My wife says they eliminate one traffic light cycle.

Continuous-flow intersection - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That would take me some time to get used too! I was caught off-guard my first time with Colorado's continuous right-turn into a dedicated lane and got a love tap from behind.

 

[Hall]

There's an area near me that has this setup. It works really well from what I've seen. First times I had to navigate weren't a big deal either.

 

[Hall]

We have "continuous flow" intersections.

The state built one of those near a new (interstate) highway interchange about 15 years ago based on traffic patterns/flow estimations they had. Problem is, developers jumped into the land nearby and built, built, built (hotels, retail stores, office buildings, and so on) so within ~5 years, traffic exceeded the growth the road planners didn't expect for another 25 years.

The intersection still works smoothly, it just has more vehicles than is ideal.

 

[Ausfahrt]

Reminds me of Kentucky drivers trying to navigate a new roundabout.

 

[Flatrate]

I grew up with those all over the Metro Detroit area.

 

[Nick1994]

Texas has some wild ones too

 

[jeepman3071]

Just do what most drivers in New England do, sit in the middle of the intersection blocking everything with your turn signal on until you can make your turn. It is also important that you don't let any signs, sidewalks, or medians stop you.

 

[John105]

Left turns really congest traffic, so any traffic pattern that avoids them is a plus for me.

The issue I see with this is after you make your turn, you need to cut across two lanes of traffic in a very short distance.

AZ drivers don't understand the concept of acceleration either.

PA drivers don't merge, which touches upon your mention of acceleration. Routinely cars enter traffic at a 45+ degree angle, rather than accelerating and matching the speed of traffic.

imho, all the controls, rules, regulations, cannot combat behavior. PA cars also do not curb their wheels. They can be on a steep grade, and wheels straight ahead. Many drivers have hands at 10 and 2, a practice which was stopped around 1992--here it is 2023.

 

[CKN]

Just do what most drivers in New England do, sit in the middle of the intersection blocking everything with your turn signal on until you can make your turn. It is also important that you don't let any signs, sidewalks, or medians stop you.

That's what a "continuous flow" intersection prevents.

 

[John105]

That's what a "continuous flow" intersection prevents.

We have them in PA, so that people can bypass a wait. Law enforcement has to put up physical barriers when these arise.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

Tell me how great they are when they ride in the left lane of I-75 from FL to MI.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Just do what most drivers in New England do, sit in the middle of the intersection blocking everything with your turn signal on until you can make your turn. It is also important that you don't let any signs, sidewalks, or medians stop you.

Aided by the New England traffic engineers who think it is hilarious changing up which lane suddenly becomes a dedicated turning lane with no rhyme or reason. Left turn only then the next block the right lane becomes right turn only. Then there's what I call the Maine Left Turn. Straddle the centerline of a two lane road with your turn signal on, blocking all traffic in both directions until someone lets you turn.