Making Turns
He may have a better view than the inside of his cruiser this week, but Sgt. Eaton still has a traffic safety message for everyone about something that, lets be honest, many of us have done!
“Hello everyone and welcome to a vacation edition of #TrafficTipTuesday. I am writing this post from a beach in South Carolina. Just because I have my toes in the sand, that doesn’t mean we still can’t learn a little about traffic safety.
I’ve received several comments, to include a message from Cathi on Instagram, asking me to address the practice of passing on the shoulder. Let’s get to it.
Picture this. You’re driving down the road, minding your business and dreaming of your own beach getaway, when the car in front of decides to make a left turn. They use their turn signal, like any good TTT reader would, and wait for the cars coming in the other direction to drive past them. Now you have a decision to make. Do you wait patiently behind the other driver until it is safe for them to turn, or should you move onto the shoulder and drive around them? In the words of The Clash, “should I stay or should I go now?” The answer to this one is, yes and no.
In most cases, it is perfectly fine to go around a car on the shoulder. According to Maryland law, a vehicle may use the shoulder, or a deceleration lane (those parts of the roadway where the white line marking the shoulder turns into a dashed line) to go around a left turning vehicle. However, it must be safe for you to go around the vehicle making the left turn. This means there should not be any cyclists, pedestrians, or other vehicles blocking your path. Additionally, you need to make sure there actually IS a shoulder wide enough for your vehicle. Many times, the white shoulder line is right up against the grass. If your tires need to go off road, this is a good sign that you should just sit and wait.
Another important thing to remember is that EVERY vehicle in front of you must be making a left hand turn. This means, if a vehicle stops and waits to make a left hand turn and the second vehicle in line decides to wait, the third vehicle may NOT go around. However, if you are the third driver in line and both folks in front of you are signaling to turn left, check your mirrors, make sure things looks safe, and feel free to go around them with an abundance of care and caution.
Now, before some of you read this and think to yourself, “WOO HOO!! Now I can race down the shoulder around 37 cars to make a right turn without having to wait!” Not so fast! This rule ONLY applies to going around a vehicle on the roadway who is waiting to make a left turn and you are attempting to continue down the road. This means, if you find yourself waiting behind a long line of cars at an intersection and you want to make a right turn, you may NOT use the shoulder to pass that long line of drivers. In this situation, you must wait for the right turn lane before going around the cars in front of you.
As always, if you have a question or concern, please leave it in the comments below. Also, if you have a specific concern with unsafe driving in your area, such as speeding, drag racing, etc., give us a call, send an email, or reach out on social media.
Until next week, slow down, pay attention, wear your seatbelt, and drive safely (and don’t forget your sunblock)
HCSO Main Line – 410.838.6600
Northern Precinct – 410.692.7880
Southern Precinct – 410.612.1717
HCSO Traffic Unit – 443.409.3324
traffictiptuesday@harfordsheriff.org
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