i know theres a camera at that intersection going south...and the other day i was at 59 and bellaire in the middle lane...no cars were coming and i was already stopped but i wasnt sure if i could make a right turn from that lane or not while its red...but i decided to take the turn anyways...is that legal...? different situation but my friend was on the far right lane at that same intersection and got a ticket for not coming to a complete stop...they sent him a photo and a link to see a video of him doing it
its not illegal to make a right turn on a red light (although you do have to come to a complete stop). however, in downtown or areas with high pedestrian traffic, it is illegal to make a right turn on a red light.
just generally? i don't drive downtown all the time now (work in galleria are now) but used to, and still go downtown regularly, and it is far from clear, at the intersections themselves, what is and is not allowed. Which pisses me off. They should clearly have either a sign, or one of the signals showing red, if it is not allowed.
just to clarify for ppl who dont go around that area but the middle lane is allowed to turn right too
Are you sure about that? I drive there a lot and I don't remember being able to turn right from there. You say you were going south, so you were on the 59 feeder turning onto bellaire, right?
yea...they have a right turn lane and then the lane next to it which you can either go straight or turn right yes that would sucks haha
I believe you're . In Texas, pedestrians on your right, crossing to any side while in a crosswalk, have the right of way. It doesn't matter if it is "high pedestrian traffic" or not. If there is a sign that says "no right turn on red", then it is illegal. Otherwise, you can turn right while there is no oncoming traffic from your left side. If the lane in the middle had a straight-ahead-and-right-turn arrow, you're OK. You're still OK if you stopped completely, gave enough of a notice with a right-turn blinker and turned from the middle lane and there wasn't much traffic. However, if you deliberately (and this can be proven) just came to the intersection, kept going and didn't signal anything or didn't make a complete stop, you're guilty of failure to signal. I hope I explained this properly. Read the TEXAS DRIVER'S LICENSE MANUAL. That will clear all doubts. From the looks of this photo, it looks like if it was the second lane from the right, you're OK. : <iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=h&om=0&s=AARTsJqzARj-Z8VnW5pkPMLMmZbqrJcYpw&ll=29.704577,-95.51346&spn=0.000815,0.00114&z=19&output=embed"></iframe>
I know where you're talking about. There's a right turn only lane and then a lane that can turn right or go straight. If you were in that 2nd lane, you should be OK.
yeah, pedestrians normally always have the right of way. but how abut if the pedestrian was j-walking? or crossing in the cross walk but there is a "do not cross" light on.
It's not "normally always", it's "always." They STILL have the right of way if there is a "do not cross" light on or if they're jaywalking. See page 4-7 of the handbook. SERIOUSLY, and not just you hieuytran, but... don't people read this handbook anymore?!?!?!?
forgot to add... back when i was in highschool, someone i knew skipped school, and j-walked to the local convenience store. he got hit by a car. ended up having a steel rod inserted into his arm. the cop that showed up at the scene wrote him a ticket bc he was j-walking (hence he didnt have the right of way.) did they recently change the law?
There's no "hence" there, dude. I think it's illegal to j-walk, but that doesn't mean that cars have the right of way over the pedestrians, it might just be in the city or in specific places. You're supposed to give the right of way to any pedestrian at any time, and you're supposed to be able to control your car at the speed limit posted. The speed limits are there because of the usual traffic, the driveways and businesses there, or because it is a residential area. The person that hit him probably also got a ticket, but your friend didn't tell you anything about it. The jaywalking law might be a city ordinance, as it is NOT specified as illegal in the Texas Drivers Handbook. EDIT: When I asked "don't people read the handbook anymore", I meant before getting their license or when discussing driving laws. I know I haven't read it lately, but I remember most of the discussions I have with people about driving can be answered in that book.
