Description

There is a growing interest in prohibiting right turn on red (RTOR) policies in the name of pedestrian and bicycle safety but there is not enough research on the subject to help agencies make informed decisions. When Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, they included a provision requiring states to permit right turns on red lights as an energy-saving measure to receive federal assistance for mandated conservation programs. Since 1980, all states have permitted right turns on red as a general rule. More research is needed to help guide state policies that can support jurisdictions in making more informed and context-sensitive decisions. This research examines the infrastructure design and built environment-related factors associated with RTOR collisions—particularly those involving pedestrians and bicyclists. We also looked at emissions issues for RTOR maneuvers. Our findings reveal that RTOR movements are generally unsafe for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers, while only marginally useful in lowering emissions and only under certain contexts. Those marginal benefits may further decline with increased electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Despite RTOR crashes being a small portion of collisions and fatalities at signalized intersections, they tend to be more severe for vulnerable road users (e.g., bicyclists and pedestrians). Additionally, given the rise of SUVs/pickups in the U.S. personal automobile fleet—which tend to cause more severe collisions—RTOR prohibition is a proactive safety strategy consistent with the internationally recognized and USDOT-adopted Safe Systems approach. We recommend that state policy should make it easier for California communities to prohibit RTOR movements. We also recognize that banning or permitting RTOR movements should acknowledge the specific contexts of the communities (their place types), which could unduly burden cities that want to allow or prohibit RTOR at a vast number of their intersections in terms of signage. Informed decisions about RTOR policies can improve road safety for all.

Publication Date

Fall 12-2024

Publication Type

Report

Topic

Planning and Policy

Digital Object Identifier

10.31979/mti.2024.2347

MTI Project

2347

Keywords

Policy, Equity, Legislation and regulation, Intersections, Pedestrian and bicyclist safety, Right turn on red

Disciplines

Public Policy | Transportation

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