Proceed on green light, when green turn arrow not lit?

pinkteapot

Driving for almost 15 years and had a complete brain freeze earlier!

I was turning from a side road onto a main road (traffic light controlled). Two lanes, one to turn left onto the main road, one to turn right. I was the first car in the right hand lane, waiting to turn right.

The lights in front of me had a red-yellow-green and next to the green was a right hand turn arrow. Traffic lights changed from red to green as normal. Green arrow stayed unlit (as it had been the whole time).

Car behind me moved forward (he was behind a keep clear bit so was 6 feet from me) so I moved off and he followed me through.

I couldn't remember at all if I was meant to wait for the green right-turn arrow. :eek:

s_b

whats worse is going through some lights and then thinking were they red so you look in your mirror and theres cars behind you so you know you are safe

of course someone will be along in a minute to say we shouldnt be driving if we make mistakes like these

busybee100

Hubby says his are set up so the right hand green will only come on if you are parked on the detector for a certain length of time (10 secs). The bulb could have gone but yes you should have only moved forward when the green right hand turn was on as it stops the oncoming traffic.

Sgt_Pepper_2

Was it a T junction?

MX5huggy

If the green light is not a direction arrow then you can go, but you may have to give way to traffic normally coming towards you. The right arrow will then come on when the other traffic is stopped by a red.

Lum

MX5huggy wrote: »

If the green light is not a direction arrow then you can go, but you may have to give way to traffic normally coming towards you. The right arrow will then come on when the other traffic is stopped by a red.

Mostly correct. A solid green light means you can go regardless of direction, however for a right turn you may have to yield to oncoming traffic.

Technically you may also have to deal with oncoming traffic even with a right turn filter arrow, however the guidance* for designing these junctions says to avoid doing this as drivers have become accustomed to expect right of way when a filter arrow is used.

*not the law

busybee100

Ok more info after relaying MX5huggys post (Thank you). The loop for the detector is usually after the stop line. The green arrow comes on by moving forward beyond the stop line onto the detector.

MX5huggy

Lum wrote: »

Mostly correct. A solid green light means you can go regardless of direction, however for a right turn you may have to yield to oncoming traffic.

Technically you may also have to deal with oncoming traffic even with a right turn filter arrow, however the guidance* for designing these junctions says to avoid doing this as drivers have become accustomed to expect right of way when a filter arrow is used.

*not the law

There is a junction I know like this but then there is a yellow sign with black writing saying "turn right on Green filter only" attached below the lights.

I think they discovered it was dangerous and decided not to afford a green straight arrow and left arrow. Traffic comming towards you can be doing 60 over a blind hill.

Lum

Black on yellow? *sigh*

That sign has no legal significance, not that it matters as you would still be in the wrong if you turned in front of an oncoming car anyway.

MX5huggy

Lum wrote: »

Black on yellow? *sigh*

That sign has no legal significance, not that it matters as you would still be in the wrong if you turned in front of an oncoming car anyway.

As I suspected without looking it up, just no point having this argument while spinning down to road on to the nearest pub lounge via the front window.

Lum

Having thought about it some more, if it really is a blind hill, then someone doing the 60mph speed limit and finding themselves unable to stop for a car blocking their progress is actually driving too fast for the conditions. It could just as easily be a broken down car, or a pedestrian.

Reminds me of the time a relative went flying over a blind crest and straight into the back of a car that had crashed into a car that had crashed into a builder's skip. She was 100% at fault and the skip was found to be legitimately positioned, however they were asked nicely to move it, and did so.

But it's all irrelevant really beacuse, as you say, you're going to end up in someone's lounge if you actually do this, so it's worth heeding the sign anyway.