Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-26
SAYS | IN 1OMAKES
WRONG LEFT TURN
A. A. A. Makes Survey OF
Traffic at Street In
terSeCtionS.


with tin making left turns ut light
controlled intersections, and the code Is
disregarded even to a greater extent at
intersections where an officer Is on duty,
apparently in move to speed up trat11c.
This statement came today from the
American Automobile Association, with
on a study by investigators, who COM
piled the study OF more than 10000
left turns.
Observers were stationed at both
light-controlled and police directed in
tersections to determine If there was
any uniformity displayed by local mo-
florists in making left turns, and the re-
suits, showing there was not, are the
fruit Of several days watching.
Make Hoover Turn.
With the relation to the increased
number of incorrect turns where police
are on duty, it was said that in many
instances motorists were motloned on or
permitted to make the Hoover turn In
the seeming effort to avoid blocking
traffic, while in other cases, foreign
tagged cars were allowed to proceed in
an incorrect manner-the traffic OIL
GERS having the choice of condoning the
violation or taking undue time Tor IN
struction and selecting the former
method as more likely to expedite the
f1ow of cars.
corners, fellow motorists making cor
rect turns did not, in many instances,
prove SO considerate and sought to Sc
cure compliance with regulations by
alphabetically urging violatorS to come
over and wait" with those observing
the letter of the law.
The confusing effect Of the lack OF
uniformity was clearly evidenced at
designated police controlled intersec-
tions, according to the A. A. A., 1t be
ing pointed out that when the traftlc
officer was not at his post, nearly Is
per cent of the drivers made the wide
swinging rotary turn instead OF the
Hoover turn, which the absence OF the
policeman made the obligatory method.
Where observers called the attention OF
violators to this incorrect turn, In q
few instances, there was not one, IL
was said, who did not, through mis-
understanding of the traffic law, seek
to Justify the method used by saying
1t was the proper turn If semaphore
were in the intersection, whether a
policeman was there or not. ASSocla-
ton officials insist that this erroneous
conception of the local trafflc law Is
surprisingly widespread
Outstanding Feature.
zone of the outstanding features Of
the survey to me as the disclosure OF
how the left turn rule at pollce-con-
trolled intersections lacks permanency
and consistency" said G. P. Clark,
general manager of the American Auto
mobile Association. IF you Will look
at these figures you'll see that, on the
average, the traffic officer was there
but one hour and 46 minutes and then
left for an average of "a minutes.
"In other words, the rule for left
turning changed twice every two hours
and quarter. The only uniformity
therefor is a uniformity of change
which is not the uniformity which
makes for safety and which has been
Endorsed so generally even by our own
traffic authorities
eff the local authorities want to
adopt a left turn which Is most gen.
orally understood then, 1t seems ap-
parent, that the Hoover code method
is the one which should be selected
Remember that on 90 per cent of our
street intersections the Hoover turn Is
now the required one-then look at
these figures and you will see that
even in the remaining 10 per cent OF
the intersections slightly over one quar-
ter Of the left turns made are done In
the Hoover way. Why should it be
thought necessary to have two rules
here in Washington in order to permit
three quarters of the left turns at but
10 per cent of the intersections to be
made according to nearly exclusively
local fashion,"
During the rush hour intervals IS
light-controlled intersections were sur
veyed for a total time of AZ hours and
80 minutes and in this time 4,576 left
turns were observed. OF these, 4,143. or
COS per cent, were rotary, or correct,
while 433 drivers, or 95 per cent, vio-
lated the code by making the Hoover
left turn.
Survey Of Rush Periods.
Likewise, during rush intervals
survey was made at Is intersections
which are either police controlled dur
ing rush hours or where police are
stationed all day. In the 81 hours and
80 minutes observed officers were on
duty SO hours and 81 minutes and OIL
10 hours and minutes for 66.7 per
cent and 1873 per cent, respectively.
During the survey the traffic officers
remained on duty for average periods
Of hour and as minutes, leaving posts
a total of 81 times and remaining away
for an average of "a minutes.
While actually police controlled. 3,418
left rotary turns were noted, or 1873
per cent, and during the same period
there were 433. or 11.2 per cent, Hoover
incorrect left turns, for total Of 1851
turns. During the time of absence Of
the officers, there were 2,171 total left
turns, of which 1923, or 84.2 per cent,
were Hoover and correct, while 343, or
1873 per cent made the then incorrect
rotary turn. In all. the police con-
trolled intersections yielded 3,761 rotary
turns, or 62.5 per cent, and 2,26l
Hoover left turns or AZ s per cent with
O grand total of 6,022.
The observers thus registered 1888
left turns at 80 light and police con-
trolled intersections during a period of
81 hours. These constitute the princi-
pal street crossings which, it is claimed,
necessitated the use of the rotary left
turn in Washington, yet, even there,
1884 Hoover turns were made for 25.4
per cent Of the total while the heralded
rotary turn was used 1904 times. In
other words at these intersections,
where the rotary turn supposedly was
an essential, it actually is used less
than quarters of the time.
Not included in any Of the above
figures, but merely as a matter of
further interest, it was said three
hour rush period survey was made
at the light-controlled intersection of
Wisconsin avenue and M street, where
traffic makes north to east turn on
green lights. OF the GAS left turns
registered, 229, or 35.5 per cent, were
rotary and 4l6 or GAS per cent, were