Why You CANNOT Turn Left in Michigan | The Michigan Left
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- On this video we take a look at Michigan's unique left turn solution known commonly as the Michigan Left.
New Jersey Jughandle:
• Why You CANNOT Turn Le...
Sources and Further Reading:
Michigan DOT:
www.michigan.g...
Plano Abandons Michigan Left:
www.nbcdfw.com...
Plano Michigan Left:
www.cbsnews.co...
Eliminate Left Turns:
www.popularmec...
Left Turns in Los Angeles:
ktla.com/news/...
The TLDR is that Michigan lefts are basically a wide roundabout, especially when the minor road does not have the option of continuing straight through.
Since there will often be 2-3+ traffic lights in between making the 'left'. A roundabout wouldn't be a comparison. There also will be 'no turn on red' and other small traffic signs in between as well. I'll stop here 😅 but there is probably a dozen more road signs that'll lead to ticket,if one isn't paying attention when performing THE michigan left🎉
@@09F150 right, the roundabout comparison is more apt for rural situations
A roundabout forces the major road to slow down, and one only needs to yield once in a roundabout. A Michigan left requires you to yield twice to highway speed traffic to cross the major road or turn left. It's very different from a roundabout.
@@misterkingpin2278 sometimes....they yield to oncoming speeds😭😭
@misterkingpin2278 in some rural areas where the Michigan left if place there is no light it's a stop sign to give way for traffic on the major road and either a yield sign or a stop sign for the u turn
You know, my brain is already programmed to perform this maneuver in situations where left turns are prohibited. I think it's nice that Michigan provides this convenient dedicated lane to perform this u-turn as it is a practical and cheap solution to the problem when left turns are not expected to be common. Even if they are, I guess you can always signalize the whole operation and add more lanes.
moving from MI to TX I truly appreciate the MI left. It's so much better than waiting in the left turn lane and also not having to make U turns at the intersection. The separated traffic allows the left side to smoothly pass through. I just wish more states would adopt this.
As someone that also moved from Michigan to Texas I do appreciate the amount of frontage roads down here and the Texas U turn. But the Michigan left is nice though.
There are a Few intersections here in Texas that does Michagain left turns. US 282 in bulverdie area
@@SLACKERBOY Sorry I hate the TX U turn. Sometimes there's not enough room to make a sharp U in anything larger than a small compact car.
new jersey
Does the Michigan left become a nightmare to use in medium to high traffic when you don't have a light, especially for trucks requiring multiple lanes for a U-turn?
Here we have left turn phases from a larger road to a smaller one & during that phase the smaller road can turn right on the bigger road. Left turns don't have to cross any traffic, making it very safe.
as a Michigander got to say were used to em , but we have always had them for a long time and everywhere, so it becomes instinct for us. But i can see how confusing it would be to an out of stater. and get the frustration of having to go farther just to make a turn. but there not bad, and there great for traffic. to those who know how to use them especially the double laned ones. like one here in battle creek on Beckley and 194. lol because it opens up to like 4 lanes heading back to downtown and people always get confused on which lane is appropriate to take them back to the expressway and not to the local business on Beckley rd. haha thankyou mike enjoyed this one.
Oregonian -- we're your opposite. U-turns are illegal here. Even when using paved turn-arounds similar to these. Unless there's a sign specifically allowing them - rare. Weirdly enough however you CAN turn left on red from a two-way to a one-way, one of the only states where that's allowed.
The Beckley/194 (The Penetrator 😉) was the first Michigan-left my wife ever encountered. I’ll never forget her reaction even. I didn’t immediately understand her confused “what the heck just happened!” when I made the turn absentmindedly as I had made it my entire life. I laughed at first but I soon found myself in a (mostly) lighthearted argument about how Michigan-lefts are great and not “stupidly complicated” as she said. Now I seek them out to tease her with whenever we go back home (we’re currently being held prisoner by the job situation in the Chicago suburbs - and Chicago and its surrounding areas could DEFINITELY benefit from a few thousand Michigan-lefts! I swear the driving instructors over here tel their students that the law says that least 3 cars MUST make the left turn after the light turns red or they will be ticketed 🤦🏼).
The Michigan Left is truly one of the greatest traffic solutions ever devised for eliminating difficult left turns.
right turns are the same I don't know what you're talking about
Not really, you're just moving the left turn down the highway a few hundred feet. Not really a difference there vs doing it at the intersection, especially if it's signalized. Plus it only works on divided highways. There are better ways
Nothing beats the New Jersey jug handle
If you ever get back to Michigan Mike, there are several examples of the Michigan left far away from Detroit on US 31, going through Holland, Grand Haven and other areas. If you didn’t get a chance to visit the Lake Michigan shoreline while you were here you must make it back again to do so!
Also, Lake Michigan Drive through Allendale, where GVSU is located.
If he wanted to find some in Grand Rapids, he would have had to go down to the East Beltline, otherwise there aren’t many in the area. I can’t think of a single example near Kalamazoo, maybe on M-89 east of town.
Up, tons of em in Muskegon too. Honestly, never even though of them as an inconvenience.
Allisonville Road at 96th Street in Indianapolis/Fishers was once home to an intersection with a Michigan Left, but they replaced it with a roundabout (no shocker there) in 2024. Only operated as a Michigan Left for ~10 years!
Haha Indiana loves its roundabouts
The videos from Telegraph are extremely close to my current neck of the woods. Good explanation!
us24 the bypass of i-75
Same where I live
Thanks
Man I was think the same thing😂started calling out which roads he was at
Me too.
I have used those particular Mich Left turns also.
When I moved from MI to FL...I really appreciated the Michigan Left more and more...we spend so much time sitting at a light to turn left...and I have seen the most horrific accidents down here when folks make left turns
His first time encountering a Michigan Left is the ONLY time I've ever heard my father -- a very reserved, conservative person, very much averse to profanity -- come close to dropping an F-bomb. He was visiting for my sister's college graduation, and I was riding in the car with him to a restaurant for dinner afterward. We were on the arterial, thankfully, so he didn't have it TOO bad, but he was confused until I explained it to him. His exact response was, "Well WHO the FU-- what IDIOT came up with THAT idea?!"
To this day, he denies any and all knowledge of those words coming out of his mouth, but I know what I heard 😆
And yes, I did extol their virtues in defense against his repulsion.
The Michigan Left sounds stressful. I’m sure I would get used to it over time but I would still be annoyed about it. Great video Mike.
It's only stressful when you have more than 2 lanes of traffic to worry about. Hall Road is the most egregious example of a bad time using Michigan Lefts.
@@SergeantTeabagalso Michigan Ave in Canton with it being 55 mph with few traffic lights to break up traffic
@@SergeantTeabag Hall Road is poorly designed. There are too many individual driveways, and some of the left turnarounds face oncoming traffic at lights which defeats the purpose. If some of the roads that intersect Hall Road, like Van Dyke, Schoenherr, Hayes and Romeo Plank were also divided and offered Michigan lefts, at least where they intersect Hall Road, a lot of the problems would be mitigated. Although, having grown up in the area, it is still better now than it was when it was a two lane road.
@@paulwindisch1423 I've only been familiar with the area for two years or so. I had no idea Hall used to be two lanes. Yes, it's horribly designed. I've had close calls with other drivers at those turnarounds too. I had a guy in a white Ram cut me off by going into the rightmost lane from the turnaround while I had ROW and turning right. I feel like the unsignaled ones are much worse during rush-hour traffic since you can't find a gap at all!
@@SergeantTeabag Yeah. 1997 was when they put the finishing touches on eight lanes of divided highway. Prior to that it was two lanes from Van Dyke all the way east to where it ends in front of Selfridge ANG. At that time, almost all of it was farmland, except for Lakeside Mall (which just closed) and a few restaurants. I try to plan routes so I don’t have to be on Hall Road because of the issues you highlighted.
As a citizen of the State of New Jersey, the “no left turn”, we use the “jughandle”. 😃👍
Also in New Jersey, we do not have the “flashing yellow 🟡 arrow” at intersections with a left turn lane. In addition, the “Jersey Barrier” 🚧 are cement slaps that run through a divided highway 🛣️ and protect vehicles from going into oncoming traffic 🚦.
we have "jersey barriers" all throughout Ohio and Michigan as well. I didn't even know they were called that until I looked it up but yeah I guess they were first developed in New Jersey which is where they got their name.
also question, how do left turns work without flashing yellow? is it just flashing red or are you not allowed to turn unless it's green?
As an ex-Michigander, I grew up with the MI-left so it was second-nature for me. Going "back" to the traditional left turn when travelling to other areas always felt dangerous to me - but I learned to adjust. All in all, I think it's a good idea.
These are commonly used in and around New Orleans and they do make traffic flow so much better
As somewhat of an anxious driver, I like the MI left. It means I only have to negotiate one side of the cross road at a time, rather than paying attention to cross traffic in both directions. The MI left breaks it up into 2 steps. I find it less stressful.
Been to MI many times and always thought this worked really well.
Another thing they do well is typically having access roads that run along the interstates. This keeps people from hopping on the interstate just to travel to the next exit, and gives a place for some traffic to flow if there's an issue on the interstate. Where I live if you don't hop on the interstate for an exit it can mean a lengthy and convoluted network of back roads to get to the same destination, so everyone always hops on the interstate. The excessive merging and vehicles is terrible for the flow of thru traffic.
I'm so used to freeways having service drives here in Michigan I've never thought about not having them! They really are convenient.
Who else can pronounce Gratiot Avenue? 😊
Being a Michigander, I don't even notice them. It's just like: this road is like that.
Grash-it. Grashit Avenue. Great car cruises up in Michigan, btw. Any car lover, classic or otherwise, should visit the Detroit area during Summer. You'll becso satisfied and happy. Car culture is still alive and thriving. It ain't called the Motor City for nothing. ❤❤❤
Is that you, Mike?😀
I would not have figured out Gratiot. I’ll play this game too, as a Louisianan. Can you figure out Conti, Carondelet, Treme, Burgundy, and Villere. These are really deceptive, especially if you think you know French
I visited the Detroit Metro this summer, and my opinion on the Michigan left is mixed. I did not find them particularly confusing, especially after the first go. That said, my experience was that these turns enabled very high speeds for a suburban road. It was never a problem where the U-turn was signalized. From a stop sign though, I needed to be ready to accelerate hard, and then switch lanes two or more times in order to turn right into my destination. Also, the roads with the Michigan lefts were very wide -- usually six lanes (three each direction) with a very wide median. I think it's the most car-centric design I've ever seen that wasn't a full blown limited access highway. It was very appropriate for Motown.
I had a buddy from Florida who at first, could not grasp the idea of how double and triple right turn lanes work. He almost caused a couple of accidents. I actually spent a few minutes drawing him a simple illustration of how it worked and he got it.
There's plenty of Michiganders who don't understand the concept of multiple turning lanes either lol
I'm from St. Clair Shores, Michigan. They built 2 extra bridges per intersection so folks can do a Michigan left over I-94.
I dig the vids, sir ❤
> They built 2 extra bridges per intersection
That sounds very wasteful of tax dollars, when a simple left turn would suffice. 🤨
Having grown up in suburban Detroit, I did not know that a "Michigan Left" was a thing but hey, taking credit where credit's due! I think the biggest challenge in making that U-turn is that the speed of traffic on roads like Telegraph, Woodard and other large arteries is that the oncoming cars are moving 45+ mph and it feels difficult to know how much time you have. I feel like there is a hybrid form of that here in Tampa but with those turns, you can make a U-turn or make a left and even if Florida drivers did use their turn signals, there is no way to know whether a car is making a left or a U-turn. At these intersections, I don't think anyone knows who has the right of way when a car is making a U-turn and at the opposite side of the road, a car is making a right which provide an optimal opportunity for a collision.
You should make a video on the Taconic State Parkway in NY where you have to make 90° left and right turns, merge with 5 feet of on-ramp, and play chicken across 4 lanes of traffic usually moving anywhere from 55 to 75 mph! 😀
Glad to see you in MI!
I had a co-worker who was killed due to a road design using these turns. Typically intersections are very well lit, not so well in the u-turn areas making it much more difficult to see a vehicle entering the roadway because the vehicle is broadside and headlights are not facing traffic.
I've been forced to use these and find them to be much more hassle than any reward supposedly offered.
WOW Mike welcome to My Michigan, I love our LEFTS it keeps traffic flowing going straight like that you experienced us24 Telegraph RD , the only way to make a left turn is Southbound us24 at Van Born since i-94 in close by. Signals are always timed on divided highways. In fact you can do the speed limit(45 or 50) make every light driving 5 miles or more. i know when we have new residents when they try to access us 24 m-85, m-102, m-5 m-1,M-53,M-59 to make a left turn 😞😞😟😟 Hope you enjoyed our area of SE Michigan
Loved seeing my area and recognizing the different places in Metro Detroit. Hope you had a great time in Michigan!
I was actually in Monticello Georgia, on my way to Jackson, and I noticed a "no left turn" sign. SO to get on the apparent road, I had to take 3 roads, 360, just to get on that road. I'm not surprised Michigan's roads might have that.
When I went up to Michigan, I called them "The Michigan U turn thingy". I loved them. Not like here in Ohio where every new traffic design is meant to back traffic up harder. Like making all lights with left turn signals use the left turn phase first, even though in many cases (maybe half) if they started with straight traffic, by the time they get to the turn signal, there may no longer even be a need unless there's lots of traffic.
I'm from Michigan, and I had no clue this was a thing. Before I lived here, I was too young to really notice road patterns, so maybe that's why this makes so much sense. I've only really ever seen it on large roads, and I just think of it as the normal way to turn left on a large road.
In Fishers, IN (near Carmel) we gave up on our Michigan left at Allisonville and 96th Street, and they put in a ROUNDABOUT!!!
majority of people simply didn't like it.
Roundabout are becoming ubiquitous up here in MI. Most people don't like them, but I prefer them over Michigan Lefts hands down.
Roundabouts>
@@brandonpatterson8517 It’s a difference use case. A roundabout gives equal priority, a Michigan left prioritizes the higher traffic road.
I moved to Michigan and lived and worked there for several years. After moving there, I found the Michigan left to be easy to navigate even as an "out of state" driver. I'm not a driving genius, I just figured it out. I think the MI left is actually a lot less stressful than making a "normal" left turn, because it breaks the movement into easier chunks. The downside that I can think of is that you have to have a slightly larger median...and I'm not sure if that is strictly true actually. I'd say they overall work pretty well.
The Michigan Left is also nice because it makes for a safer u turn too
As a Michigander, I have found the opposite when I go out of town and learn one can make direct left turns off divided roads. I just instinctively find the next turnaround and use it.
Also, my old neighborhood is Telegraph and Grand River. This was one of the few divided highway intersections (junctions since both have route numbers) that one could make a direct left turn. Not anymore. Telegraph is under constructions and with it comes the latest in highway design toys. That Short Street is gone (I disagree with this decision) in favor of more turnarounds. A mile north of here a DDI is being installed to replace a cloverleaf interchange.
I also believe these turnarounds are the reason that in Michigan, one can make a left turn on a red light as long as the turn is onto a one way street and it is not a NO TURN ON RED intersection.
Thanks for giving the Michigan Left some love.
Virginia Beach built something similar a couple years ago at the intersection of Kempsville Rd. & Ferrell Pkwy -- one of the most congested and dangerous intersections in our area. That intersection has always been a nightmare since I moved there 10 years ago, and the new layout seems to have alleviated a lot of congestion once people got used to it and the light timings were tweaked. The U-turns are signalized with these cute U-turn shaped traffic lights that I've never seen anywhere else. And the lights at the main intersection are straight arrows to remind people they can't directly turn left.
I’m so glad you covered this. I was getting lost everywhere in Michigan because it was out of the ordinary.
In other news I'm extremely happy that you pronounced "Livernois" correctly 😜
LOL I live in NJ - and we don't do left hand turns very often here, either.
I was born and raised in Michigan so the Michigan left was just normal to me while growing up. I moved to the Chicago 'burbs in 2007 and it took me some time to get used to doing left turns at the intersections of divided roads. I truly hated it at first (still kinda do all these years later), but as mentioned, you adapt to it. I still highly prefer the Michigan left though,. Keep up the great work Mike! Love your videos
The michigan left is so prevalent on divided highways, that there is one intersection near where i live that doesnt use it and it stands out like a sore thumb
When my dad was teaching me how to drive, he always refered a U-Turn near an intersection as a 'Michigan U-Turn."
Very fascinating and unique road laws. I wonder how it is in different states.
Unheard of. That is how it is.
You once did a video on Florida's Turnpike, the New Jersey Turnpike, and the Oklahoma toll roads. You should do a video on the history of the Pennsylvania Turnpike as the first cross country superhighway. There were highways like the Merritt Parkway, a highway in Manhattan, and in Los Angeles before the Turnpike but they were in the city. The Merritt Parkway was built in stages that took longer than the Turnpike to fully complete.
Local boy here, did you stop by Shield's pizza? So many good places to eat where you were at!
I wonder why intersection designs that move the left turn conflict away from the main intersection are so rare outside of the states they were created in. Many state DOTs have been going full steam ahead on building roundabouts, but hardly any have built Michigan Lefts or Jersey Jug-handles.
Michigan Lefts would be useful on roads with flex lane configurations. It would provide some left turn access for the deprioritized direction, and make it safer for the prioritized direction. I bet part of the reason flex lanes along the 7ths in Phoenix get their unfortunate nickname is that left turns are allowed from the prioritized direction.
Must be limited land available in other countries.
The Jersey Jughandle requires extra space. And the Michigan left requires at least one spaciously divided highway.
Because roundabouts are better
Grew up in the Detroit area and I'm astounded that more places don't use these. They're slick and easy to use.
because people who didn't grow up with them don't like them they are currently removing one they had here where i live
I'm from the Detroit 'burbs. I moved here to SF bay area in 2021. I miss the Michigan left. I can't count the number times I have seen really BAD accidents of drivers making left turns. My Neighbor was almost killed recently trying to make a left. You are trying to make a left and see no breaks in traffic. Then light turns yellow, you floor it and some guy tries to out run yellow. BAM! Sometimes here you can get stuck 2 or 3 light cycles trying to make a left taking up to 10 minutes at a light. I timed it once at 9 minutes at a smaller but busy intersection near my home. If we had MI lefts that would never happen.
Ontarian here. Certainly noticed the Michigan Lefts on a visit years ago, found them quirky, but got used to them quickly. To me, anyway, they made sense. Up here we're now seeing traditional circular British style roundabouts being built. These too avoid ninety degree left turns...but I don't care for them, as you need to be an expert in choreography to use one without getting crashed into...
Signals with a left-turn arrow controlling a dedicated left-turn lane are better.
Living in Michigan for a few years, I hate them, because most 1 lane U-turn sections are super wide to allow for semis to turn around, which means that if you are waiting to turn, someone can drive around you. and most u-turn sections do not have lights, so you still end up with the "waiting to turn left" right infront of traffic, there is just only 1 direction you have to pay attention for cars to come from. Also when there is lights, and EVERYONE is trying to "turn left" the intersection becomes jammed with cars trying to left turn. When you turn right to then u-turn, everyone is turning on red, then flying over 4 lanes of traffic to make the next u-turn section. overall there alot more lane crossing, and more turns on red, and people going around you. I hate it personally.
I spent a week in Detroit last year. I'd been there many times before, so when my GPS app was giving me directions to my hotel in Dearborn, I thought it was screwing up because of all the road construction. It wasn't, but I had to drive 5 miles out of my way to figure that out. The hotel was actually two driveways back from a U-turn on US-12. I never doubted my GPS again after that! That hotel was actually a great location for my drive to the conference in the mornings but not so great on the way back in the afternoons. I enjoyed my stay regardless.
I personally like the Michigan Left... no huge backup of traffic waiting for the green arrow at the intersection to make a left turn. You just go through the intersection, make the left and then zip back to the intersection and make the right. Traffic flows so much nicer and quicker than I've seen in other states with standard intersections. And yeah, Grand Rapids has Michigan lefts, just check 44th Street and M-37 (aka Broadmoor/Beltline Ave)
They're just backed up further down the street where the U-turn is, and traffic on the second road has to stop twice, while the traffic that ultimately wants to go left has to navigate three intersections and weave a lot. Seems like _more_ conflict points to me!
@@jovetj Having lived with Michigan lefts over the last 15 years, it works far better than a first glance would lead ya to believe. I was pretty skeptical of it initially, but it has won me over.
Slightly funny hearing “go up to Michigan to experience them”, for me, grew up in the UP and these confused me a bit when I went down to Detroit. After getting used to them though they seem to work very well.
Yeah. A few of them around Escanaba. But in Detroit, Eight Mile Road and Telegraph Road are full of them.
The reason is that if you could turn left, you'd be able to leave Michigan. And Michigan really, really likes your taxes.
Okay Mike now you have to get north of Saginaw, Clare, or muskegon to really see Michigan. You’ll even find Michigan Lefts there too!
There is one intersection in my area like this and I never understood why it was. Thanks for the explanation.
When they put these in the Holland area we called them the Dutch left. Most of us hated it when they were first introduced but now I personally think it's a major improvement in light of the increased traffic over the years. When I was in High School I had a work release where I got out of school at 2:30 PM and could travel a couple of miles on US31 without seeing another car but now it's almost bumper to bumper traffic all day long.
Its good to learn something new everyday. Thanks, Mike.
One thing to mention about Michigan Lefts is that the majority of the time the second signal is only there to guarantee you have an opening to pass through the turn. Even when it is red, if there is an opening in traffic, you're permitted to turn most of the time. In fact from my experience most don't even have a second signal, you just turn when you can.
I hate the Michigan left as a semi truck driver. It makes it such a pain having to do all these different loops around
Crashes happen when cars tries to pass a truck on a Michigan Left
Anyone who either never liked the Michigan left or doesn't understand why it exists has never tried to make a left turn onto Boulder Hwy from E Harmon Ave in Las Vegas during busy times before mid-2009.
The correct thing to yell at drivers making a non-Michigan left at a Michigan turn is: "GO BACK TO OHIO!!"
Hey Mileage Mike! I love your videos! If you live in Metro Detroit, the Michigan left is just part of life here in Southeast Michigan. I never think about it. I remember in driver's ed, they taught us how to drive through them!
The traffic throughput on the big highways in Michigan is amazing due to the fact that lights only require two phases. Its is normal to be on Telegraph post rush hour and not hit a single red light from Grand River (M-5) all the way to Maple (15 mile) which is about 9 miles and sometimes all the way to where I turn three miles past at Long Lake road.
Years ago I would pick up my wife and make it from eight mile road and Evergreen about four miles west of that Livernois intersection you showed, turn onto NB Woodward to 12 mile road without hitting a red light (both are Michigan Left roads).
Ive lived in Michigan all of my life so the Michigan left is 2nd nature to me. I can't ever remember seeing any in any other state though. You mentioning being in Grand Rapids and needing to go to Detroit for a Michigan left, you were much closer to roads with Michigan lefts. Those being 44th st and the East Beltline. Both roads i am very familiar with.
The biggest downside is that people who are not used to them are not used to them. This problem would be easily and quickly solved if they were more widely adopted.
I live in a Michigan apartment complex who's sole access is from a Michigan left road. I couldn't avoid that one even if I wanted to, but I never saw a reason to avoid them anyway. The main road curve on a hill in front of my apartment complex used to be known locally as "the dead-man's curve" because of how many accidents it had as a simple two-lane road, but remaking it into a boulevard with Michigan left turns solved that.
There are many times when I have realized that I missed my turn, and then was glad that I was on a Michigan left road. These roads are very forgiving when people miss turns. No need to look for a parking lot or side road to make a U-turn, when you can just use the next turnaround lane built precisely for that purpose.
I used to live in Michigan and now live in Pennsylvania. I miss the Michigan left turn. It is a brilliant design.
I was never so frustrated when driving in NJ and not being aware of the jug handles. I've never been back since that nightmare. Thanks for this video which advised me to stay away from MI, too.
The roundabout is superior, but if all your lights are timed (like on Telegraph) the MI Left gets the edge.
Somehow my city in MI didn't have the michigan left so I would be bewildered when I come across these intersections in Holland and Troy
The turnaround! Grew up with that and it’s truly a great thing.
This is cool! I grew up on the road and remember my parents suddenly discovering these things and keeping on reminding each other every time we got back in the vehicles. Motor City❣️
As a former Michigander, I've grown up to appreciate the advantages of the Michigan left. I've even performed Michigan lefts in Wisconsin, when I don't want to wait forever to turn left onto a divided roadway. If everyone had them, they'd learn how to use them, and,
it wouldn't be confusing.
I do something like that when I am trying to make a left turn and it becomes obvious that traffic won't let me. So I turn right, go down the road a ways until I can make a left turn into a parking lot then come back out and make a right turn to go the way I want to. That way I'm not fighting traffic.
This was implemented a few years back in NC at the intersection of NC218 and US74 in Polkton, as well as a few other locations along the Charlotte beach run. It was initially a surprise the first time I encountered it, as I was used to turning directly left from 218 onto 74 East, but it was easy to get used to and appears to work well.
This is used here for divided roadways only. There is one of those "Jersey" style cloverleafs at 11 mile and Groesbeck. Also we are building more roundabouts, which are even safer and time-saving (no need to stop for a red light)
I worked in Southfield, MI for about 4 years in the late 90s. Being from Toronto, the Michigan left confused the heck out of me at first. But then you got accustomed to it.
Ironically, north of Toronto (where I live now), you have to do Michigan Lefts to get to many a side road off Yonge St because of the dedicated bus lanes.
Telegraph road has broken me personally. Also the first time I came to Michigan, my gf did a michigan left turn on red which is apparently legal and I shit my pants. Really thought a red light camera was gonna go off. Also apparently we don't have those either! Funny place
From a two-way street?
@@traffic.engineerGenerally the left is on a boulevard section so you only have traffic coming one direction (straight at you). Since it is a left onto a one way, you can go through. It really keeps things moving when you have one predominate direction of traffic (like the respective rush hours).
@@miketimmerman6336 Most states allow left turn on red from one-way to one-way, but Michigan and 4 other states allow left turn on red from a two-way to one-way. Wanted to know the specific detail of this left turn on red maneuver.
The Michigan Left makes reasonable sense to me at least in concept.
The one I have never quite gotten my brain around is the “right hook” used in the Central Business District in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia especially on roads with tram lines. In these cars make all turns, left and right from the left (kerb) lane on a protected signal.
As a pedestrian it was odd just seeing cars against the curb (US spelling this time) signaling to turn both ways with traffic speeding past on the right.
Funny anecdote to go along with what you said at the end. My brain is so used to having to right then left that sometimes I find myself wanting to turn left off of Telegraph onto an undivided minor side street and I’ll forget that the other road isn’t divided and then I’ll make a right thinking I’ll be able to uturn around to go left but I in turn end up having to pull into a store and turn around. So what you said about your brain adjusting is definitely true 😂 i forget all the time
Never seeing one of these before even driving through Michigan seems like it only in works in some very particular circumstances and takes more time for dubious to little saftey gaines.
I've lived my entire life in South Jersey, however my family has strong Michigan roots. Imagine my total confusion in my first summer having a license visiting my Aunt who lives off of Woodward. If it weren't for my 12 yo cousin teaching me the intricacies of the Michigan Left I would have caused mass carnage in the Detroit suburbs. I am biased but I much prefer the NJ Jug-handle, it ends up being way quicker than the MI Left. The people out in MI tend to be much more laid back than your average New Jersian too, so that may have something to do with it's success there. Plus I'm sure it irritates anyone coming up from Ohio, that alone is enough for any MIchigander to tolerate it's shortcomings 😆
Missouri has been implementing these during this century. I've seen them on US 63 between Columbia and Jefferson City, on US 60 between Springfield and Rogersville, and on 141 in the greater St. Louis area between I-44 and Manchester Road.
The Michigan left is very prevalent in New Orleans Metro (southshore).
I wish this had worked in Plano, but the biggest problem was how they rolled it out. There are a number of intersections in the city that were originaly designed to have overpasses like Preston and Legacy. This wide center median makes the lights long and they needed a solution. I think the biggest problem was that this intersection had been there for decades and was designed for left turns. It wasnt at all uncommon to see confused drivers sitting in the old turn lanes not knowing what to do. If the city hadnt of played it safe and complete removed the old turn lanes, it probable would have worked better.
You may find it interesting how the city has delt with the other similar intersections . Spring Creek and Coit a couple miles away they put in what are basicly Michigan left turns along with u turns but stll allow left turns at the main intersection. South on Preston at Plano Parkway they narrowed the intersection and added left turns for intersections that were created by narrowing the original.
I think they should have gone with the original overpass idea.
I've lived in Michigan most of my life and I generally don't mind the Michigan Left. I also think it distributes traffic more to other major parallel roads b/c when you don't want to deal with them, you just take a another, slightly slower road.
Funny enough, I also lived in Plano and that MI Left was ridiculously massive. Safer, for sure, but Preston Rd is so unnecessarily wide that the left turn movement felt like an inconvenience. They also marked it pretty poorly when first installed, so no wonder it was a failure.
My professor for my highway geometry design class was from Michigan. He talked about Michigan left turns a few times because he had to deal with that in designs
I've been to Michigan and I didn't find the Michigan left to be a difficult adjustment. We have a few NJ jughandles here in the Pittsburgh area, but I don't think we have anything like a Michigan left. Another thing I've noticed about lefts in Michigan is during a "regular" left, the signal for the left turn has a backlit sign above the signal indicating "left." I don't think I've seen that outside of Michigan.
I for the jughandle over the dedicated u turn mainly because of the potential for weaving and end-to-end collisions from overcrowded or poorly designed ramps, as well as the merge into the passing lane allowing for another t-bone collision point(s) after each u turn.
My first encounter with this no-left-turn paradigm was Tucson, Arizona. There were two examples of this. The one I remember most prominently was the intersection of Valencia and Kolb. At first, it thoroughly confused me, but after I got used to it, it wasn't too bad.
I’ve barely stepped foot into Michigan, so I really can’t say much about the Michigan left, but I have researched it a lot recently. However, it definitely reminds me of the New Jersey jug handle when I spent nearly a year there. Also, there are a few intersections in Utah where I live that have the Michigan left.
In recent years, Georgia DOT has been implementing a version of the Michigan Lefts, known as RCUTs (restricted crossing u-turns).
In any state, you're allowed to make a right turn when you come to an intersection with the lights red, but you have to make a complete stop, look both ways for oncoming traffic and pedestrians and then proceed if it's clear. on the other hand, in most cases, you cannot make a left turn at an intersection.
Living in North Carolina I'd never heard of the "Michigan Left", but ran across it for the first time Holland. I was surprised because it was weird and different, but it wasn't at all hard to figure out and makes a lot of sense. In fact I can think of a few intersections I go through regularly that would be improved by adding Michigan Lefts.
NC has the RCI intersection for the last two decades. They are essentially a Michigan left, but does not allow the minor street to go straight. All minor street traffic has to make the u-turn.
Unfortunately, NC never legalized left turn on red. So they are not able to reach their full potential.
I lived in Michigan for 3 years, and did not see this, but then, the biggest city near me was Saginaw. I do remember New Jersey and how they did it though, just from driving through the state once.
I prefer this style over NJ because - as you stated - you’re still in the left lane. I couldn’t imagine driving in the right lane to make each left turn.
I've lived in NJ my entire life and when you have jughandles when learning to drive, it becomes 2nd nature.
@@larryk731 how was your first trip outside of NJ? Did it take you a long time to adjust to making left turns at large intersections or did you expect it?
@CJ3WT I went to college in New York state in a small town and had a car from the beginning. There really was no adjustment since the town had few roads with over 2 lanes. (full time population about 5000, student population about 6000)
Michigan lefts are awesome. Wish DC and the DMV area generally would adopt the method.
I have not been to Michigan yet so this is good information. It's safer and makes sense so of course Texans didn't like it. I'm sure they would be triggered by roundabouts, too.
At 6:40 there are actually no signals you have to wait for with that Michigan left. That lack of an intersection means you don't need ones at those locations which tends to only happen when its a nearly no flow situation. Harrison goes into a residential area to the north with no through traffic anyways. Growing up with the Michigan Left it feels a lot safer especially in areas with lots of Semi-trucks.
It's actually incredible the great lengths Americans go to avoid roundabouts.
As a Michigander going down to Florida I found their pulling U-turns at lights to be interesting, but you get used to it, Same here.
These are present in Grand Rapids, Holland and the smaller cities but much more prominent in Detroit. I like the design, but I'm indifferent to them vs. the jughandle design; either are better than standard lefts on the busy roadways that they are encountered on. The one safety issue that remains is that it is usually legal to turn left on red on these, and people can still misjudge traffic and get creamed by oncoming vehicles. You could outlaw that, but I prefer the freedom to do it, despite the increased danger from inattentive drivers.
Having now lived in cities with significantly more nightmarish intersections and left hand turn conventions (looking at you Pittsburgh!) I have come to appreciate these more over time though.
I've been waiting for you to make a video on this ever since I saw one of your Michigan city Drive videos last year which showed a no left turn signage on one of those streets you turned onto apparently New Jersey isn't the only state that that jug handle restriction