Research has shown that eliminating left turns improves safety and traffic flow. Installing a Michigan Left at an intersection is one way to limit left-turn movements, reduce the number and severity crashes and fatalities (30 to 60 percent reduction), and relieve congestion (providing 20 to 50 percent more capacity than direct left turns).
Michigan Lefts not only improve safety for motorists, but pedestrians, bicyclists, and truck drivers as well.
The one downside to restricting left turns is that vehicles may be required to travel a little bit further before turning. However, smoother traffic flow and safety offset the impact of the relatively small inconvenience of driving further.