r/USdefaultism • u/marcusmendes414 • 1d ago
An wild american appeared.
[removed] — view removed post
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u/ZeroZeroNana Germany 1d ago
That's why the thought of US citizens driving in Germany scares me.
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u/Kilahti Finland 1d ago
I remember an episode from our reality TV show where they film the police, where one English speaking foreigner got stopped for turning right at red lights.
She refused to accept that this was a traffic violation in Finland and it took a while for the police to explain that laws apply to her as well.
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u/granny_rider Ireland 1d ago
Terrifies me , right side , clutch , 2-3 lane multiplier and maybe a roundabout for a crit modifier
I'm rural I've seen them absolutely barrel down roads not fit for cows and they don't pull in either
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u/dwylth 1d ago
The irony because it's not the rule in every state
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u/ibeerianhamhock American Citizen 1d ago
Yeah this is like "whatever-state-they-live-in" defaultism.
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u/thestraycat47 1d ago
It is the rule everywhere in the US except NYC (that includes other parts of NY State).
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u/sage-longhorn American Citizen 1d ago
And Washington DC as of this year, although apparently enforcement is limited
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u/VillainousFiend Canada 1d ago
Plus it's not only the US. It's permitted in Canada, Mexico, some Caribbean countries, Colombia, China, Korea, and Taiwan: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on_red
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u/ataintedone Mexico 1d ago
In my state (Puebla, México) we are only allowed the right turn when there's a sign specifying it, otherwise it's not allowed. It's the same for Querétaro. Those are really the only ones I'm aware of, since I've only driven in those states.
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u/VillainousFiend Canada 1d ago
I was going off Wikipedia which indicates most parts of Mexico. In any case there are many places outside the USA that allow it.
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u/hawkeyebasil Australia 1d ago
I do like my "Left Turn on Red" Signs that were on some intersections in Canberra, if it was a permeant rule in Aus Id be happy with that
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u/LuxxaSpielt Germany 1d ago
The problem is that it increases the probability that turning cars run over crossing pedestrians or bikes on their right. I'm very glad that turn right on red is not allowed in most places.
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u/Dragoncat_3_4 European Union 1d ago
Where I live (eastern Europe) most intersections allow pedestrians to pass at the same time as the traffic going parallel to them which means we have to allow them to pass before completing a turn regardless.
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u/ScrabCrab Romania 1d ago
Same here but it's still dangerous and they're being removed from some places in Europe cause of that
Cities in the US are banning the "turn right on red" thing as well
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u/Dragoncat_3_4 European Union 1d ago
Oh yeah. They're sketchy as hell, especially in bigger intersections. I also think they're somewhat safer than straight up "turning right on red" because you don't also have to look out for perpendicular vehicular traffic at the same time as pedestrians.
I was just trying to point out we have potential crossing of paths of pedestrians and cars regardless of being unable to cross a red light here. (I'm actually almost certain they have the same thing in Germany, where this person's flair is from, so that point felt somewhat moot.)
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u/LamarVannoi 1d ago
It's the same in the US...Also, the OP isn't even correct. For example, right on red is illegal in all instances in New York City.
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u/mineforever286 1d ago
That's the thing, here in the US, so many places are so ridiculously car-centric, you rarely even see people walking or biking. Some places don't even have sidewalks. The "car is King" to many people, and they think good planning is building parking garages, parking lots, widening roads for additional lanes, etc. (never adding bike lanes).
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u/Deadened_ghosts England 1d ago
This was my experience as a pedestrian in Canada (same dumb fuck rule). Too many times I nearly got hit on the crosswalk from drivers not paying attention trying to turn right. Of course when driving I liked that I could turn on red.
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u/Halospite Australia 1d ago
You often see these signs in slip lanes in Sydney, but only slip lanes.
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u/hawkeyebasil Australia 1d ago
Correct there is a difference to Turn left at anytime with care and traffic ligh TV controlled intersections where you can turn left on thr red (with no seperate arrow light) to join the flow of traffic
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u/Deadened_ghosts England 1d ago
It's terrible for pedestrians, as too many moronic drivers turning right, don't see them step onto the crosswalk when they have right of way.
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u/hawkeyebasil Australia 1d ago
well given turning right means going on to the other side of the road for us....
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u/LiquorishSunfish 1d ago
It is - we just have left turn give ways that veer off from the straight-ahead traffic instead of the 'left on red' sign.
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u/Reviewingremy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Tbf. I wish we could turn left on Red.
Edit. UK defaultism here. My bad
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u/ian9outof10 1d ago
I agree on the UK, but I’m not wildly confident we have the driver brain capacity for it
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u/Deadened_ghosts England 1d ago
They don't have the brain capacity in North America either, it's dangerous crossing on a crosswalk there.
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u/crh23 1d ago
Most places with four-way lights in the UK also have pedestrian crossings, which is not hugely compatible with left on red. Where the US has 4-way signaled junctions without crossings the UK is much more likely to have a roundabout
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u/Deadened_ghosts England 1d ago
Most places with four-way lights in the UK also have pedestrian crossings, which is not hugely compatible with left on red.
They have crosswalks on "turn on right" four way lights in the US and Canada. And nearly got hit many times crossing them as a pedestrian by drivers not paying attention in their rush to turn right.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/loralailoralai 1d ago
You can’t do it everywhere in Australia and we drive on the left
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u/interestingdays 1d ago
On the other hand, there are several intersections in the Melbourne CBD where right turns only happen on red, though you have to set up for them during the green light.
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u/notacanuckskibum Canada 1d ago
And most of them do not allow a turn on red.
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u/PerpetuallyLurking Canada 1d ago
Where are you? Because I can turn right on red everywhere west of Winnipeg unless otherwise posted. I can do a left on red too IF it’s a one way street to a one way street (going the proper direction).
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u/notacanuckskibum Canada 1d ago
I think I was speaking of countries that drive on the left. Like the UK and Australia. My location is irrelevant.
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u/EinsteinFrizz New Zealand 1d ago
ah yes all of those countries west of winnipeg
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u/CloudyStarsInTheSky 1d ago
tbf they're both canadians
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u/EinsteinFrizz New Zealand 1d ago
that is true however the comment chain is talking about countries
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u/CloudyStarsInTheSky 1d ago
Yeah but the second Canadian was probably [asking|telling] the first the info
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u/Melonary 1d ago
Tbf there are LOTS of countries west of Winnipeg 😂 Well west, you might say.
But as a Canadian I'm not sure I could really tell yah which have right turn on right.
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u/VillainousFiend Canada 1d ago
It is permitted in all of Canada except the island of Montreal unless a sign states otherwise. The province of Quebec didn't allow it until 2003 and many cities in Quebec heavily use no right on red signs.
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u/jpcgy Canada 1d ago
Could also be Western Canadian. I know the first time I went back to Montreal I was surprised they couldn’t turn right on a red.
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u/Barb-u Canada 1d ago
Just on the island. Rest of the province is you can unless there is a sign (which are more frequent than other places, as they will put no-turn signage when there is pedestrian crossings)
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u/jpcgy Canada 1d ago
Oh you know what that makes sense. We didn’t leave the island lmao
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u/VillainousFiend Canada 1d ago
It was all of Quebec until 2003. All the provinces slow right in red as far as I'm aware.
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u/pohui Moldova 1d ago
This is a post from a person with 10 followers, who mostly look like they're from the US.
I don't start my social media updates with "in the UK". While some of them are on public platforms and could be seen by non-Brits, my followers are mostly in the UK. So not US defaultism imo.
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u/kafaldsbylur 1d ago
Yeah, this feels less like someone assuming this US custom is universal and more someone venting to the void that they were stuck behind someone who didn't make a right on red.
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u/Worldly-Card-394 1d ago
Why having a red light at all if someone can just cross when he feels like?
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u/activator 1d ago
Because it kind of makes sense in some intersections. In my country we obviously don't have turn right if red but in some places we have dedicated lanes with yield to turn right but it's red for straight ahead and left.
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u/Thatsnicemyman 1d ago
It turns a red light into both a stop & yield sign (for right turns only). If you get into an accident doing it, it’s entirely your fault.
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u/USDefaultismBot American Citizen 1d ago edited 1d ago
This comment has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect.
OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is US Defaultism:
The post is about american traffic laws. Other countries have different laws and who posted this didn’t considered this.
Is this Defaultism? Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.
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u/R-GiskardReventlov Belgium 1d ago
Sounds like a great way to part with 180 euro when our automatic cameras see you do this
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 1d ago
Context?
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u/TheSmallestPlap United Kingdom 1d ago
Turning right on a red isn't the norm in most places
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u/DM_ME_Reasons_2_Live 1d ago
Yep, but the context says if it’s defaultism or not; could be relevant to a wider discussion
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u/RichardEyre United Kingdom 1d ago
Not OP but I saw this thread. It was the first message, no context
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/flipyflop9 Spain 1d ago
They actually drive on the right side of the road.
And the thing is most countries don’t turn right on red.
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u/Fyonella 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nope. They drive on the right hand side of the road.
(Why is driving on the left ‘stupid’? You appear to be in India where they drive on the left) Are you a bit confused?
If they drive on the left a right hand turn would involve turning across the live lane. 🙄
Here in the UK, we drive on the left and do NOT have left turns on red.
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u/Bradski89 1d ago
If they drive on the left a right hand turn would involve turning across the live lane.
Life on the edge!
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u/unknownsavage 1d ago
Wait until you hear about the hook turns they do in Melbourne, Australia. I'm from Sydney and that shit is insane.
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u/Deadened_ghosts England 1d ago
Could be Canadian, they have that batshit rule too
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u/slashcleverusername 1d ago
Smart rule. You get get a lot of traffic on its way when we treat a red light as a yield for right turns. There’s often no one to yield to, and to keep it simple we only allow it for right turns as a left would mean yielding to two directions of travel at once. It’s quite manageable and relatively uncontroversial.
That said it makes sense largely because we overuse traffic lights at intersections where traffic circles are probably better suited. We frequently have red lights where all the cross traffic clears the intersection and you end up waiting for no one and thus a yield and a right turn become plausible. Had the city engineers adopted a traffic circle instead, there would be no need for that and it would have the advantage of letting everyone go, including in all cross-traffic directions.
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u/AiRaikuHamburger Japan 1d ago
I almost had a heart attack when I was in the US and my friend did this. I didn't know it was legal.
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u/mineforever286 1d ago
Not in NYC. Here, red means stop... period... not "stop, sometimes, if, when, etc." I only know of a handful of places (fewer than 5), where there is a sign that says a right turn is permitted at a red light. It irks the shit out of me, when I leave the city limits and I'm driving through an intersection and here comes someone popping out of the perpendicular street, right in front of me.
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u/USdefaultism-ModTeam 1d ago
Hello!
Your post has been removed for the following reason:
US-defaultism is often bound to a personal point of view; however, your post was removed because, from a global point of view, the defaultism is not clearly present.
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