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53 °F 5 Day Forecast Monday, October 20, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 6, 2003 Turn lanes aren’t meant for merging into traffic I know it’s appropriate on a four-lane street with a full center lane to make a left turn into the center lane, stop, then merge into the adjacent lane when traffic permits. (I didn’t know until a recent column of yours that one should come to a STOP in the center lane until it’s safe to merge; I had previously moved ahead slowly until time to merge.) My question involves a two-lane street with turn lanes at intervals. Is it appropriate to make a left turn into such a dedicated turn lane and wait there to merge? Or should one wait in the side street until the traffic is clear, then make the turn? Thanks for your help. — Ted B., Medford Well Ted, at our last Traffic Safety Advisory Board meeting we had the chance to discuss this very question. Advertisement The discussion centered around traffic headed west on East Vilas Road at Table Rock Road. There’s a problem with traffic backing up behind the red light. When this happens, some drivers who want to turn left and go south on Table Rock Road will use the center-turn lane to bypass the line to get to the intersection. However, the legal move is to wait until the left-turn lane starts as marked, and then get in the turn lane. Getting to your question, in the above example the county is looking at lengthening the protected left-turn lane, which would allow drivers to enter the turn lane earlier and legally. However, to do so might block access to a driveway on East Vilas behind the gas station. If a driver would want to enter that driveway while heading east from Table Rock Road, he would have to turn from the through lane, not pull into the center lane because it is now a dedicated turn lane, having been extended farther back in order to remedy the queuing problem from the other direction. So the long answer to a short question is to wait until the traffic lanes clear from each side and do not pull into a dedicated left turn lane in order to merge into traffic. Dace Cochran, a patrol sergeant with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, writes a weekly Q&A column on police issues for the Mail Tribune. Have a question for him? Write to Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times