Crunch. Another driver has tried to turn left after the light turned red, and someone going the other way (probably a newcomer to Los Angeles) thought that green actually meant "go."
Turning on the red is so much a part of the driving culture here that police officers routinely wave scared newbies through their first such maneuver, while frustrated drivers piling up behind them honk their horns and wave their arms.
Why, asks Liz Bennett of Los Angeles, do they do that?
"They hang about in the crosswalk until the light goes red, and then lunge through with at least one -- sometimes two -- equally ignorant drivers hanging on," she complains.
"If you would do a feature explaining the correct way to make a left turn, you would make the world a safer place."
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Question: Is it legal to turn left after the light has turned red?
Answer: Yes and no. According to driving instructions published by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, it is illegal to "enter an intersection, even when the light is green, unless you can get completely across before the light turns red."
But turning left on a red light is so much a part of the way people drive here that L.A. traffic planners count on people to turn left after the red to keep traffic flowing.
John Fisher, assistant director of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, points to another section of the motor vehicle code that allows drivers to continue through an intersection if the light turns red while they are in the middle of the street.
This means, he said, that drivers can turn left on red as long as they move into the intersection while the light is green or yellow.
Recognizing traffic flow and safety concerns, the city has begun adding left-turn arrows to a number of the most congested intersections.
New signals are planned for another dozen crowded crossings, including Beverly Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue, Compton Avenue at 55th Street and Melrose and Normandie avenues.
Traffic planners are willing to put in left-turn arrows in less obvious trouble spots at residents' request, but only at intersections that traffic studies have proved to be unsafe without them.
The culture of turning left on red, Fisher said, grew up in L.A. because the roads and traffic signals were installed before left-turn arrows were common.
Back then, in the 1950s and earlier, traffic flow was much lighter. So there was plenty of time between cars to turn comfortably while the light was still green.
