Is there a right-turn waiting area?
3 Answers
Generally, there is no waiting area for right turns, and vehicles can proceed directly when the light is green. At larger intersections, especially under overpasses, to effectively regulate traffic flow, left-turning vehicles may enter a waiting area. Once the light turns green, they can proceed with the left turn. Introduction to the left-turn waiting area: The left-turn waiting area is a section of dashed lane extending forward from the stop line at a traffic light intersection. It is primarily designed to improve traffic efficiency by providing a designated area for left-turning vehicles to wait. When to enter the waiting area: When both the straight and left-turn signals are red. If the straight and left-turn signals are red, vehicles must not enter the 'left-turn waiting area' and should wait behind the stop line. Otherwise, it will be considered running a red light, resulting in a 6-point penalty.
Definitely yes. Last year when I was driving in Hangzhou, I paid special attention to this design. Nowadays, many main road intersections in big cities have right-turn waiting areas, especially at large multi-lane crossroads. These areas marked with white dotted lines are particularly eye-catching, sometimes accompanied by blue signs indicating when you can enter. When entering the waiting area, you must pay attention to the traffic lights. Usually, when the straight-through light turns green, you can move forward into the waiting area and wait, so you can turn right immediately when the right-turn light turns green. However, it's important to note that not every intersection has this feature. During my last self-drive trip to a small city, I found that such areas were almost non-existent there. So, when approaching an intersection, always check for signs before proceeding, and don’t just assume you can drive into it.
Over the past six months, I've observed more than thirty intersections and noticed that right-turn waiting zones primarily appear on main roads with exceptionally high traffic during morning and evening rush hours. For example, several traffic lights under overpasses on Beijing's Third Ring Road have implemented such zones, aiming to allow right-turning vehicles to queue in advance and avoid blocking straight-moving lanes. However, novice drivers often get confused. Once, the car behind me refused to enter the waiting zone when the straight-moving light turned green, only starting when the right-turn light turned green, resulting in just three cars passing through in one light cycle. Actually, remembering the simple rule 'enter the waiting zone when the straight light is green, turn right when the right-turn light is green' makes it much easier and improves intersection efficiency.
