Why I hate making left turns in Los Angeles:
1. There are not enough left turn arrow signals.
2. In all but a few locations where there are left turn arrow signals, the light only stays green long enough to let two or three cars through
3. Invariably, left turners keep packing into the short turn lane, blocking the thru traffic and causing unnecessary delays for people behind them. Isn't it way faster to just go thru the intersection, pull a "u-ey" and turn right instead of waiting for the interminable light?
4. Even when you do get the green arrow to turn left, two or three cars trying to turn left from the other direction who had missed their green arrow, use up precious seconds of your already short light, thus causing you to miss the light and have to encroach on the green arrow of the other intersection. It's an endless cycle, like the previous run on sentence.
5. People who use their time at red lights searching for crap in their car or applying makeup. Red light time ought to be spent with one foot on the gas and the other on the brakes waiting for the opportunity to zip zip zip left! Don't doom me to another light cycle!
6. That particular driver (and it is with great restraint that I don' t say moron driver, as I am trying to keep my thoughts lofty and be a better human being than I currently am) who finds it necessary to traverse oh so very slowly and carefully across the intersection as they turn left. What? Do they think they are going to have a spontaneous roll over if they go faster than 25 miles an hour?
7. Drivers who don't advance enough into the intersection to allow more than one car to get through the light.
8. Pedestrians crossing against the light and drivers courteous enough to allow them to get through!!
9. Left turn signals that are separate from the main signals. Once the arrow goes red, you can't go, even if the straight ahead traffic light is green and there is no oncoming traffic.
10. Incorporated left turn arrows that allow turners to go once the oncoming lane is clear. This encourages drivers to keep going even after the main light is red. This in turns eats up time of the opposing left turners and straight ahead traffic.
11. That bloody moody left turn signal at turn from Sunset east to La Brea north that doesn't always turn green. It's all about hitting the right sweet spot at the intersection. Too far in or too far back and Aaargh !
12 Buses, trucks and the fool who has to immediately turn right (and slowly) into the starbucks at the corner. Hell-oooow. There are people trying to make a left turn here.
There's simply nothing favourable about left turns in this city. It's rather ironic that it's even called the left coast.
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