Safe Left Turns in the City

One of the most intimidating moments of bike commuting always comes when I'm cruising along the bike lane on a big road, and then suddenly a left turn comes up. (I still get overwhelmed every time I'm rolling down Spruce in the morning and have to turn left onto 38th St).

There are multiple lanes of traffic whizzing by on your left. You can't, or don't feel comfortable, forcing your way across to the left turn lane. And if there aren't any friendly motorists who will let you through (they do exist!), sticking your arm out to signal a left turn won't accomplish much. What do you do?

Making left turns can be easy. Probably the most common advice I give people who are new to bike commuting is to make box turns, rather than dealing with merging.

The wonderful CommuteOrlando blog has put together a great flash-animated guide to making a variety of left turns. I've put the tips for the two left turns most useful on Philly streets:


Box Turn: If you come up to a left turn and you're not ready to merge over, or feeling nervous about it, or new to bike commuting, or whatever, this is an extremely easy option. Instead of turning left, just go straight! When you get to the opposite corner, stop in the lane or bike lane, and turn 90 degrees to the left. Then you're ready to go, without having to make a potentially intimidating left turn! Just make sure you're ready to ride when the light changes.



Tips for Standard Left Turn: Sometimes it just doesn't feel possible to get over in time to turn. But Keri's Commute Orlando article on Left Turns makes the point that traffic travels in packs. If you plan ahead, and time it right, you can often merge over when the road is empty between packs of cars.

And don't be scared to take the lane when you have the opportunity, even if you've still got half a block to go before the intersection. As Keri explains, this "technique only requires overcoming the belief that you need to always be riding in the right lane". Read Commute Orlando's Getting the Road to Yourself for more on using traffic patterns to make your ride safe and stress-free.



Big thanks for CommuteOrlando for putting together such a great resource! Check out the article for flash animations on how do these turns, and others which are suited to really big, more highway-like roads.