re: What are the rules for running red light on a continuing left?

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I think he's saying you take a left at a green light, onto the neutral ground area, but you are immediately met with a red light. Do you wait in the neutral ground area or continue to run the red light.

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Exactly. These are all over the place. Here's a map of one over by the West Esplanade canal - the red and green dots and arrows show the lights and flow of traffic.

If you are traveling westbound and turn left (south) you're immediately hit with a red light. Can you treat that red light as a stop sign (which is what I was told) or do you have to wait.



https://imgur.com/a/5y6Z2Th

It’s a justification selfish people make for breaking the law

no you stop at the red light until it turns green. If you treat it like a stop sign and and cause an accident you will be held 100% at fault

I think he’s referring to a situation where he pulls into the intersection when the light is green, but unable to turn cause of oncoming traffic. Then the light turns red, so he “clears the intersection” after oncoming traffic is stopped

I try to avoid doing this especially with my kids in the car, because some arse hole is going to run a red light and smash the back passenger door, where my kids sit. Ain’t worth the risk to save 2 mins. Leave earlier so you aren’t doing this to save 2 mins

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It is however LEGAL to turn left at a red light if you are on a one way, turing onto a one way..

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Pisses me off so much that people don't understand that.

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If there is the thick solid white line on the cross street you are turning onto from your original street, you're supposed to stop at that line and wait until you have a green light. It doesn't matter if you had been travelling straight or turning onto that street.

If there is no solid white line, that space is not intended to have cars stopped there, and you should continue the turn when there is no oncoming traffic.

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This, I believe, is the correct answer. It comes down to whether cars are intended to stop in the “cutover” across the median/neutral ground, or whether that cutover functions more like a “wide yellow line.”

If the intersection is designed well, the intent should be fairly clear. For example on North Blvd in downtown BR, it’s obvious that cars turning left are expected to stop in the median. There are white “stop bars” and multiple sets of traffic signals (e.g. one over the median and one at the entrance to the cross street) to make it fairly clear that if you’re turning left, this traffic light still applies to you.

Alternatively, I’ve seen other intersections where the light is intentionally placed directly over the median so that turning drivers don’t really see it. Another tell is that if there’s not room to pull a car into the gap without blocking traffic, the red light probably isn’t intended for you.

I realize Metairie is less obvious sometimes, but using the example that OP posted:

.. I mean, let’s think about this. Let’s say you’re traveling west on W Esplanade and make a left turn there. If the light is red, who else could it possibly be intended to stop?

The cross street doesn’t even continue past Esplanade. The only people the red light could possibly be intended for are folks turning left off of Esplanade. So if you “continue through” that light, yes - you are running a red light.

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a rule of thumb, not a written law.

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Good luck getting to turn if you don’t.

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If you’re lake bound on north Carrollton and want to turn left onto City Park Ave,

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on Orleans, too, right?

I think you mean Orleans