Left hand turn crashes

[Drano]

While probably not applicable here because people know jack about proper driving, in the UK flashing your lights at a turning vehicle is generally taken as a signal that the driver may proceed to make the turn in front of you.

[FZRguy]

Like said, each traffic situation is unique and you must be prepared to take the appropriate action. If you "brake hard" be sure there is some space behind you.

[LivingPools]

About 3 years ago i was riding on Florida Avenue going East towards Colorado Blvd, I was at the intersection and i had about 4 cars in front of me the first going straight the other 3 turning right onto Colorado Blvd, the cars going West wanted to turn left onto CO Blvd so they could get to the interstate. I was on the left side of the lane going straight, a car turning left either did not see me or was getting impatient because after the 3 cars turned there was no reason they should not have seen me. They made the turn forcing me to go around the left side of them (my left) so i didn't hit him, had i been on the right side of the lane there would not have been enough room for me to get all the way over to the left to get around him and if i had tried to go to the right he would have just run into me. Was a close call for sure and opened my eyes a how people just really do not pay attention when making there turns.

Colorado Blvd has some interesting intersections. For those who don't know the area, its between I-25 and Alameda, three lanes travelling north/south with lots of commercial and retail buildings. I'm thankful I travel in the area by car, not comfortable riding two-wheels in that area.

The intersection at Colorado I have to use is plain terrible. Eastbound has a left-turn only lane, with straight and right-turn only next to it. Westbound has a left-turn and straight only lane, with a right-turn only next to it. Neither direction has a protected left turn signal, the lights turn green and its every man for himself. Leaving work heading westbound, I want to go straight across the intersection to get off of Colorado Blvd as soon as possible. Because most people in my lane turn left, and some of them don't use a signal, I have taken to preemptively honking my horn to make it through safely. On more than one occasion, I have come to dead stop because some left-turning douche recognized I had the right-of-way, but didn't care enough to actually yield. No, waving at me doesn't make it all better either. It doesn't help that the lights are never long enough to clear all the waiting cars during rush hour.

Note you can recognize this risk if you intersect with a busy road and notice the lack of protected-left traffic signals.

I agree with ASP_125, if I was riding a motorcycle, I would find another route to remove myself from the situation. As it is, I look at it as getting my cage horn practice in early for the commute home.

Grim, sounds like being flexible and reading traffic really paid off for you!

[NZ Darren]

I always think that they are going to go in my mind, then plan how I will avoid them. I try to be aware which lanes next to me are clear if I do need to take evasive action.
It just means than I'm not caught by surprise if they do go, as I'm expecting it and have a plan for it already in my mind.

[vozproto]

Outside of the ride like youre invisible standard advice? Be very wary of places where people can make blind left turns across stopped lanes of traffic.
That's how I almost got tagged. Thats a whole story unto itself

[kawasakirob]

I try to look straight at the person directly in the vehicle to see if their head is pointed my way. Same while passing truckers, I look in the driver side mirror to see if they notice me. Other than that, I tend to cruise with my fingers on the clutch and front brake in heavily populated areas. Learning the hard way sucks.