Banning Right Turns on Red Can Improve Road Safety

Turning right on a red light may seem like an age-old tradition, but as Erika Bolstad explains in Stateline, the practice was primarily motivated by the oil embargo of the 1970s, when it was seen as a conservation measure. But as traffic fatalities continue to rise year after year, policymakers are taking a hard look at the practice and reconsidering its benefits and drawbacks.

Some states and cities are ending the practice: “Washington, D.C., will end most right-on-red turns by 2025. Already, the state of Hawaii has prohibited them on a tourist-dense stretch of road in Honolulu. The city of Berkeley in California is considering banning right on red at all intersections. Near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the city last fall banned right turns at 50 signalized intersections in its downtown core.”

While rigorous studies about right turns on red remain scarce, “the studies that are emerging are beginning to show that limiting the practice can reduce crashes and close calls, and that drivers accommodate to the prohibition.” In one example, “A study by the District Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C., found that when the city banned right on red at 100 intersections in 2018, most drivers complied and there were fewer conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles.”