Right turn on red

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Right turn on red (RTOR) is a principle of law permitting vehicles at a traffic light showing red to turn right (after a complete stop) when the roadway is clear. RTOR has been practiced in the western United States for more than 50 years, with the eastern states adopting the law in the 1970s.

All 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have allowed right turns on red since January 1, 1980, unless a sign otherwise prohibits this. In the 1970s, some states instituted the practice to save fuel (see 1973 oil crisis and 1979 energy crisis). From 1982-1992, approximately 84 fatal crashes per year occurred in the U.S. where a vehicle was turning right at intersections where RTOR was permitted.^{[citation needed]}

German Right turn on red permission sign

In Canada, one is allowed to turn right on a red, only after a complete stop, unless a sign states otherwise. In the province of Quebec, turning right on a red was illegal until a pilot study carried out in 2003 showed that there were no significant adverse effects of the RTOR manoeuvre. Subsequently the province of Quebec now allows universal right turn on red, except on the Island of Montreal and where it is prohibited by a sign.

In Germany, right turns on red are permitted when a specific sign is present. This rule was first introduced in 1978 in the German Democratic Republic and was originally supposed to become obsolete together with the East German highway code by the end of 1990, following German reunification. However, authorities were unable to remove the signs in time, and public opinion caused them to leave the regulation untouched, even extending its scope to the former areas of West Germany in 1994. By 1999, there were a mere 300 turn-on-red intersections in West Germany while East Germany featured 2,500; the numbers in West Germany have risen considerably since then, though, and as of 2002 a total of 5,000 turn-on-red intersections were counted, with 48% in West Germany.

[edit] Left turn on red

In most areas of the United States, it is also legal to make some left turns on red. In all cases, the road being turned onto must be one-way. Making a left-turn on red from a two-way street is legal in only five states: Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington. In 37 other states and Puerto Rico, it is legal to make a left turn on red only from a one-way street. Left turns on red are prohibited in the states of South Dakota (unless permitted by local ordinance), Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and in the District of Columbia and Guam.

All turns on red (left or right) are prohibited in New York City unless a sign is posted permitting it. This law has been often challenged, but never successfully overturned.