Have you ever met someone who doesn’t like to make left turns? Maybe you have a friend or family member who gets nervous turning left and tries to avoid it. Or perhaps you’ve read about how some delivery companies will instruct their drivers to go around the block rather than making a left turn.
In either case, the reasoning is largely based on the fact that left turns are dangerous. They lead to numerous car accidents because the driver who is turning left, unless they’re on a one-way street, has to cross oncoming traffic lanes. This is just inherently more dangerous than making a right turn, where there isn’t any oncoming traffic.
Focusing on efficiency
When you look at delivery companies specifically, part of the reason for this rule is that they have found it’s more efficient. Even a safe delivery driver has to wait while making a left turn for all of the oncoming traffic to clear. This means that they’re idling in traffic and burning fuel. It also delays deliveries, and all of those little delays add up over the course of a day, a week or a year. It is more efficient for the driver to keep moving and plan their route so that it contains mostly right-hand turns.
But safety is also a part of this equation. Even if a delivery truck is just involved in a minor fender bender, it can derail all the deliveries for the day and put everything behind schedule. If the driver is involved in a serious accident, it could have an even greater financial impact as the company has to cover medical costs, lost wages and much more. So for both of these reasons, left turns are often avoided.
Seeking compensation
Understanding the risk of left turns doesn’t mean you can avoid them all the time or that another driver won’t make a mistake, such as cutting you off with an ill-advised turn. If you get injured in an accident someone else causes, then you need to know what legal steps to take.