Pittsburgh Left

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The Pittsburgh Left is a colloquial term for an illegal and controversial^[1] driving practice associated with the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. It refers to the practice of the first left-turning vehicle taking precedence over vehicles going straight through an intersection.

Contents 1 Process 2 Signals 3 Legal basis 4 How it came to be 5 Regional exclusivity 6 References

[edit] Process

The Pittsburgh Left involves two cars facing one another waiting at a traffic light or other stop signal: one turning left and one going straight. The left-turning car will execute its turn through the intersection before the car going straight passes through the intersection, where normally it would yield. Permission to do so is either given by the car going straight, or sometimes taken by the left-turning car by starting through the left turn early enough so as not to obstruct the straight-going driver. This practice is seen as courteous, because a very small delay for the oncoming vehicle can eliminate a long delay for the left turning vehicle and those blocked behind it.

In practice, Pittsburgh drivers often make the Pittsburgh Left by anticipating the green signal after cross-traffic has stopped or cleared, but before the actual signal change. This practice is so common that straight-going drivers in the area are accustomed to pausing a moment before proceeding on green, for their own safety.^{[citation needed]}

One variation of this traditional practice is rumored to have been a contributing factor to the motorcycle accident injuring Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on June 12, 2006, in Pittsburgh.^[2]

[edit] Signals

Generally, a wave of the hand in the direction of the turn or a flashing of headlights by the driver going straight will indicate permission for the left-turning driver to execute the turn. Conversely, the driver navigating the turn may attempt to signal the other driver for permission to do so, with similar hand motions or headlight signals. Furthermore, simply a delay by the straight-bound car can often initiate the signal, and give the left turner time to go and make the turn, especially in large intersections.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Legal basis

The Pittsburgh Left has no basis in law. Failing to yield to oncoming traffic while navigating a turn is a traffic violation, and is prohibited in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.^[3]

[edit] How it came to be

The Pittsburgh Left has an assumption that no cross traffic will run the light that is changing to red.^{[citation needed]} Since the left is made as soon as the light goes green, if some cross traffic is running the red, there is a conflict. This assumption was valid before the early 1960s,^{[citation needed]} when Pittsburgh had a non-standard traffic light sequence. The green cycle would turn to green and yellow, then to yellow and then to red. Thus, drivers had twice as much notice that the signal was changing from green to red and therefore could judge better their stop before the signal had changed to red.^{[citation needed]} Since the change to a standard signal cycle, the Pittsburgh Left is seen much less frequently, and is often unexpected when it does happen.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Regional exclusivity

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Despite its nomenclature, the Pittsburgh Left is not exclusive to the Pittsburgh region.^{[citation needed]} It is common in cities with high levels of traffic congestion, such as Vancouver, Toronto, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Providence, Rhode Island.^{[citation needed]} It is considerably harder to execute this maneuver on wider roads with larger intersections. This type of maneuver is rarely, if ever, seen in cities like Los Angeles, where the intersections are generally much larger, thus making this a much more dangerous undertaking.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References