Banning Right Turns on Red Just One Step Toward Vision Zero

Banning right turns on red can reduce vehicle-pedestrian conflict, but “may not substantially address road safety challenges,” reports Michael Brady in Smart Cities Dive.

“Indeed, research shows that allowing right-turn-on-red leads to more conflicts between cars and pedestrians. For instance, permitting right-turn-on-red led to a 43% to 107% increase in pedestrian crashes and a 72% to 123% rise in cyclist crashes, according to a 1982 study by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” However, these crashes tend to be minor and not a major contributor to traffic fatalities. Between 1982 and 1992, just 0.2% of roadway fatalities occurred at intersections with right turns on red allowed.

Experts suggest taking a more targeted approach by banning right turns only at particularly dangerous intersections to “get the most benefit at the lowest political and economic cost.” 

Ultimately, right-turn bans must fit within a “bigger policy framework” that includes “[l]owering posted vehicle speed limits, instating traffic-calming measures, reducing permissive left turns and improving pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.”