ADVICE - It's Simple! Turn Right...

right turn permitted sign Suggestion about entering a busy roadway from an apartment parking lot. So easy to safely turn right, with traffic, instead of across traffic.

I am forced to enter a reasonably busy two way road from my apartment parking lot. My parking lot is in the middle of two other close-by apartment parking lots on a rather short curved block. The short visibility distance either way on entering the road is often compounded by other vehicles legally parked parallel to the curb on both sides of my apartment exit. This makes it difficult to see other oncoming traffic or vehicles exiting the adjacent parking lots or from a nearby McDonalds Food place. Since the town core and shopping is to the left, the natural inclination is to turn left across the near lane. To do this and gain visibility both ways I must unsafely protrude the nose of my vehicle out into the near lane in order to determine when it is safe to proceed across the near lane into traffic. Often I am blindsided by another vehicle also turning left from an apartment exit, less than 100 feet away to my right also blinded by parallel parked vehicles.

While it does not entirely eliminate the oncoming hazard, I found it easier to focus on traffic in the near lane and turn right with traffic flow. This is then followed by a series of right turns to get to my destination. Time consumed: maybe two minutes to get back toward the town core. Stress level: Zero

Smart

Nice to see someone thinking for a change.

Good way to minimize risk and conflicts

There are many times when linear thinking - i.e. getting from A to B via the most direct route - is not the safest way.

Think of all the drivers who habitually put their vehicle nose-first into their driveway, thus having to back out. The really stupid ones then cheerfully back across to the other side of the road if that points them in the direction they want to go.

Or the driver who wants to change direction (maybe heading west, needing to head east). Many will deal with this in the worst possible way, by turning left into a driveway or alley, then backing out of it. Much better to back into a driveway or alley on the right, then leave going forward. Even better to find a place to make a safe U-Turn, thus eliminating backing. Best of all may be making three right turns and a left, or three left turns and a right.

Or even, when at a Stop sign needing to cross a multi-lane arterial. This can be really tricky, especially if, apart from two lanes of cross traffic from each direction, there is also pedestrian activity in the near or far crosswalks!
But if instead the driver turns right at the Stop sign, then lane-changes to the left, then turns left at the next intersection, all of these maneuvers are much easier to deal with by separating the various hazards.

Reducing risk, maximizing visibility, minimizing conflicts, that's what it's about.

Turns