What's the safest way to turn left from a right-side bike lane?

Question

(United States road configuration and customs here. Sorry, those of you who drive on the left!)

On my trip home, I use a bike lane near the right side of a very busy one-way arterial street; there is a bus/right-turn lane between the bike lane and the curb. I need to turn left, crossing three lanes of traffic, at a T-intersection (no street to the right). My options are:

1. Turn left directly from the bike lane.
2. Keeping a weather eye on traffic, move into the left-hand lane and turn from there.
3. Veer right onto the sidewalk (avoiding buses, obviously); wait for the pedestrian light to cross.

Which of these is the canonically correct way to manage, assuming heavy car traffic?

Answer 1

By heavy I suppose you mean heavier than you'd like it to be, or heavier than you can live with comfortably.

It's probably possible, sometimes, to change lanes beforehand, going to the left one to do the left turn, if the traffic is not so heavy, but that would, I think, violate your pre-condition that the traffic IS heavy.

Then, the canonical way to do it would be getting to the margin of the flow (in this case, the sidewalk), and waiting for a comfortable opportunity (in this case, the pedestrian light).

Turn left directly is a very bad behaviour, as it adds a lot of unpredictability and leaves a small time window and a small margin of safety for you and for any other user of the public way. Besides, as it seems, it is illegal.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

The Oregon Bicyclists Manual explains this very well, and with good diagrams, so I'm going to pretty much copy them verbatim here:

There are several ways to make a left turn on a bicycle:

As a Vehicle

As you approach the intersection, look over your left shoulder for traffic and, when clear, signal your turn, move over to the left side of the lane on a two-lane road (1), or into the left lane or the center turn lane when available. You should be positioned so cars going straight through can’t pass you on the left. Yield to oncoming cars before turning. if you are riding in a bike lane, or on a road with several lanes, you need to look and signal each time you change lanes. Never make a left turn from the right side of the road, even if you’re in a bike lane.

“Box-style”

Proceed straight through the intersection on the right. Then stop, and either cross as a pedestrian in the crosswalk (2), or make a 90 degree left turn and proceed as if you were coming from the right (3). If there is a signal, wait for the green or walk signal before crossing. Yield to pedestrians in crosswalk.

In your particular case, I would suggest method 2. Cross the intersection, then pull off to the side and orient yourself to cross with the crosswalk. Then wait until there's a break in traffic, and head across that way. If you eventually become more comfortable biking in traffic, you may choose to use method 1. I find that cars almost always slow down and let me in if I clearly signal that I'm making a left turn, but it depends on how fast traffic is, how confident of a cyclist you are, and what the road conditions are like.

Answer 3

Definitely not 1, unless there is a special signal to permit this. Either 2 or 3, depending on traffic and your confidence level. I've done both.

Answer 4

To me it would depend on the speed of traffic. If the traffic is moving slow enough such that you can ride at about the same speed, then it should be possible to take option 2, and make your way over to the left lane. Try to move over to the left lane ahead of time, so you aren't cutting across the road too quickly, because this will slow your forward speed. If the traffic is moving much faster than you are, it's most likely safer to just take option 3 and cross as a pedestrian. This may include dismounting and actually walk your bike across the pedestrian walk. Technically it is probably illegal to use the pedestrian light to cross while riding, although I do this all the time, and I've never heard of anybody in my area getting a fine for doing this. Option 1 is probably something that you should never do. It's dangerous and illegal to make a left hand from a bike lane when you have to cross over a lane that goes straight though.

Answer 5

I wrote a left turn blog post about this. I've included a snippet below explaining the 3 options I lay out. To summarize, I would follow these rules in your situation:

1. If there is no traffic either way, Option 2: Turn Like a Car is easy and quick.
2. If there is a green light with heavy traffic, Option 1: Cross, Stop & Pivot is the way to go. It's safe and easy. (In your case with the bus lane it seems a bit harder, but buses are usually nice to bicycles.)
3. If there is a red light with heavy traffic, Option 3: Red Light Pedestrian is your best bet. Depending on your location, it may not be legal unless you dismount, but if you're one of the only bicycles at the intersection it gets you through the intersection quickly and safely.

There are 3 ways to make a left turn.

Left Turn Option 1: “Cross, Stop & Pivot”

This is the easiest and safest way to make a left turn. Say you’re rolling along in your lane and you want to make a left turn at the coming stoplight. The light is green and you’re already on the right side of the lane, so you roll through the intersection and stop at the other side, turning your bike to now face left and you’re ready to go! You may now be with a horde of cyclists waiting at the light or in front of the cars waiting.

This is super easy and works well. Some intersections will have a “Bike Box” specifically designed for you to stop in when doing this maneuver. However, what if the light is green and there are barely any cars around? Or What if the light is red? You have other options to speed up your trip!

Left Turn option 2: Turn Like a Car

This type of turn is great when the light is green and there are no cars or pedestrians around. It’s exactly what cars would do, so most people should understand this turn. If there’s a bike lane, you merge into traffic, take the car lane, and turn left in front of oncoming traffic. Watch for pedestrians!

Even though this is the simplest of all the turns, there are many situations that make this uncomfortable. If there are 3 lanes of traffic next to a bike lane, it may be harder to merge all the way over whilst making sure there really are no cars behind you. If you’re in a protected bike lane, it may be impossible to merge into car traffic. Just remember you can always fall back to the Cross, Stop & Pivot!

Left Turn option 3: Red Light Pedestrian

This option is great when the light is red. If you attempt option 1 or 2 when the light is red, you’ll have to wait for the entire cycle of the next light before you can continue your journey. Part of the reason you’re biking is so you don’t have to wait like everyone in the cars right? You should rarely have to wait more than 1 cycle at any light. To achieve this goal, cross on the crosswalk to the other side of the intersection while the light is red. Wait on the edge of the street or on the sidewalk if you feel unsafe. Once the light turns green, you can continue straight along the other cross walk and turn left onto the bike lane with few conflicts.

You will have to watch out for cars turning right in front of you, but most will let you go through first as you’re acting as a pedestrian in the crosswalk. If there are lots of pedestrians, get off and walk your bike of course! But if there are only a few people no one cares if you ride through the crosswalks. Even if you walk your bike here you’ll come out ahead compared to waiting for 2 lights!

Happy biking!

Answer 6

I usually prefer to get in the left lane when possible. One thing to consider though, is turning left onto a multi-lane street. You have to turn into the left-most lane when opposing traffic is turning right (pretend you're the blue car and the white car is turning right.

If there's a steady stream of cars turning right, it can be hard to get over to the far right after you've made your left turn.

In this case I'll usually opt for the crosswalk.

Also, as others have pointed out, option 1 isn't a good idea.

Answer 7

• If you want to take the safest option, wait for the pedestrian light.
• If you feel confident that you can switch through all 3 lanes of traffic safely, do that early and take the left lane.
• Dont turn directly from the bike lane if you value your life.

It sounds like you should be waiting for the pedestrian light most, if not all of the time, but use your own best judgment.

Answer 8

Another option is the "three rights make a left" maneuver.

There are intersections on my commute where drivers will just not yield, so turn right into a parking lot, ride along the edge of the parking lot, and then make another right turn and exit the parking lot into the street.

It may not be elegant, but it helps keep me from becoming a human hood ornament.

Answer 9

I adopt one of two approaches, depending on how anxious I am, in similar situations in the UK (typically when I am cycling in London).

1) Be a car (as Dean suggests above). Well in advance of the junction signal and join the traffic, signal again and join the turning lane, and then turn. This one's faster and scarier than (2).

2) Be a pedestrian. Slow down in advance of the junction and dismount. Stand with the bike and wait for the crossing light. Walk the bike to the other side of the one or two streets and then mount it again and cycle off. There's no shame in walking: Ecclesiastes 9:4

Answer 10

I agree with your observation of step #3, from the bike lane, move across to the other side of the street and wait for the green traffic signal to proceed across the stopped traffic to get to your intended lane of travel. If the traffic is light and you can safely move to the left hand turn lane, that is the "normal" way a vehicle would execute the left turn. Either way is fine, it just depends on your "gut feelings" and the amount of traffic at the time. You just have to watch for those turning right on a red traffic signal if that's permitted at this intersection, when using step #3.

Answer 11

You become a car. Act like a car. Indicate and merge. Just like at traffic lights don't just stick to the cycle way else you will eventually be shunned to the curb and forced to use the pedestrian route, and walk across the road. Indicate for the mandatory three seconds and go for it. If you look behind you while doing this you will see the cars slow down behind you: they don't want your insurance company chasing them up.