Driving Impressions – November 2010
by Greg Cavanaugh
As your local author with a passion for all things transportation related, I’m taking it upon myself to improve driving in Gallup. This is not to say I should be teaching Driver’s Education, but I do believe that my father raised me to be a good driver and I can dispense some of the wisdom that was passed to me. It is time to take pride again in being a good driver and pass those habits on to future generations.
I’m focusing on a problem in Gallup that is slowly fermenting into an epidemic: ABUSING THE CENTER TURN LANE.
This is no more evident than on our very own, cherished of boulevards, Historic Route 66.
Let’s get something straight Gallup: THE CENTER TURN LANE IS FOR LEFT TURNS ONLY!!
According to the New Mexico Criminal and Traffic Law Manual, page 912, 66-7-322 section C.
“Upon a roadway with two or more lanes for through traffic in each direction, where a center lane has been provided by distinctive pavement markings for the use of vehicles turning left in both directions, no vehicle shall turn left from any other lane. A vehicle shall not be driven in the center lane for the purpose of overtaking or passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction. Any maneuver other than a left turn from this center lane will be deemed a violation of this section;”
The last line says it all. Some key points:
-It is unsafe and illegal to drive down the center lane of Route 66 to merge into traffic.
(Mainly, I don’t want to have a head on collision with you – and neither does my 14-month-old daughter – while I’m turning left from the center lane and you are looking over your shoulder trying to merge onto Route 66.)
-Unless you are turning left, you should not be “parked” in the center lane, waiting for traffic to clear. IT IS NOT A PARKING LOT.
-While, at times, it seems safer – or just faster – to pull into the center lane and wait to merge during heavy traffic, that does not make it legal. 1) When traffic is heavy, you have to wait . . . that’s how it works. 2) If you can’t wait, turn right, then when traffic is clear make an appropriate left turn and go around the block to attain your desired direction.
This bad driving habit has gotten so bad that many Gallup drivers now pull into the center turn lane and begin driving down the road even when there is little to no traffic! Drivers should not have to worry that someone is going to merge into them from the center turn lane. This behavior has become so common that I watched a state trooper pull out of the station on East 66 and drive down the center lane for well over a block before merging into the flow of traffic. (Let the record show, this officer had no lights on, or any other indicator that he was in an emergency situation.)
Finally some road / center lane etiquette that will help you be a better driver:
-When making a left turn, enter the center turn lane as close as is safely possible to where you are making your turn. (DO NOT DRIVE FOR 2 BLOCKS DOWN THE CENTER TO TURN INTO EARL’S.)
-Enter the center turn lane as close to the speed/flow of traffic as is safe. (DON’T SLOW DOWN IN THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC, THEN ENTER THE TURNING LANE.)
-When turning left ONTO Route 66 (e.g. from the Miyamura overpass) it’s important to turn into the leftmost lane of traffic, then use your blinker and enter the rightmost lane if you need to make a right turn into Lowe’s, for example. (DO NOT TURN LEFT DIRECTLY INTO THE OUTSIDE LANE.)
If you see me honking and waving at you vigorously, go back and read this article again
Where’s the comments people!!? I’ve heard directly from a few locals that tend to agree with me. Our others getting fed-up with this? Are you guilty of the same driving? What should be done about it?