If you put a lot of thought into defensive driving and how you can stay safe when you’re in the car, you may be open to changing your driving tactics entirely. However, one thing that you may not have thought of is completely avoiding left turns.
This can be difficult, but there is evidence that left turns are so dangerous that you’re better off never making them. For instance, reports have indicated that many delivery companies try to avoid all left turns. They only make them in about one out of every ten turns. 90% of the time, the drivers are instructed to make right turns, even if that means they have to go all the way around the block by taking three right turns.
Why do they do this?
The problem is that a left turn means that everyone involved has to make the right judgment call. That starts with the driver who is turning left, but mistakes made by other drivers around them can also cause an accident.
This risk is somewhat unavoidable because a left turn almost always means crossing through an oncoming traffic lane. This increases the odds of an accident, even for drivers who work very hard to make every turn safely.
Delivery companies are focused on efficiency, so they don’t like to have trucks sitting in traffic or getting involved in accidents. Taking a longer route, if it’s safer, can actually be more efficient.
But you don’t have to work for a delivery company to use this principle. Any driver who tries to avoid left turns when possible is going to be safer than someone who makes them.
Have you been injured?
If you’ve been injured by a driver who was turning left or by someone who hit you while you were legally making a turn, you may need to know what options you have to seek financial compensation.