blaze

From a googled article on driving rules and regs within the US and Canada :

Justin JIH (external link verified Jun-03) states that:

Right turns on red arrows are permitted in Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Washington State and Wyoming.

They are not permitted in Alaska, California, Colorado, the District Of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New York State or Puerto Rico.

Other US state laws make no mention of the subject. Nor is there any mention of the subject in the laws of any of the Canadian provinces and territories.
If in doubt as to whether a right turn on a red light or red arrow is permitted or not, then you can observe the actions of the vehicle in front. If you are the leading vehicle then you will usually be informed rapidly by the driver of the vehicle behind should you fail to turn where such a manoeuvre is legal.
Similar Laws In Other Countries
It is illegal to turn left or right on a red light in Britain. Doing so is regarded as a very serious offence. It would probably be wise to assume that the same applies in all other countries other than the USA and Canada.

road Warrior, You are right on the red light, this same article states that it is permitted in every state (unless otherwise indicated or in NYC as you said )

Big D

Undertaking isnt legal in all states i don't think?

Pulling over for emergency vehicles wouldnt be a problem in Europe with small roads - here where the smallest roads are the size of England it seems a little unnessessary - common sense should prevail - although drivers the world over lack that little beauty

whats this with signs lacking numbers in the UK? dont understand what the national speed limit is? there are only 2 its not that hard to grasp!!!

Hiro11

Passing on the right is legal in all states on divided highways. As the poster said, the differences in driving laws between the states are negligable despite what some British travel guides would have you believe.

That's a much better system.

I think the reasoning behind certain roads having (say) a 30 limit vs. a 35 or even 40 in the US has more to do with speeding ticket revenues for the towns than safety.

Bob

big difference is seat belt laws, drink/speed law/penalties, young drivers..well there's supposed to not drive with friends after a certain hour around here, can't remember the details because they don't apply, and also not seen it being enforced either...oh, and diamond lanes, different states have different colour/signs on the lanes, but this state doesn't have them at all

Bob

It is daft an't it...and the main reason it is set at 30mph in UK, if your hit by a car doing 30, without bull bars, you have a 50/50 chance of survival, at 35-40, chance of survival drops to sod all, and if a car has bull bars, it'll probably kill you at 10 mph.

TouristTrap

You can turn right on red in Canada too?

I thought that one of the neatest things when we first arrived.....I love picking up first time visitors to the US and hearing their cries of consternation when they encounter that first one

RoadWarriorFromLP

I don't believe that undertaking (passing on the right) is actually forbidden anywhere, except for possibly a new law that was recently imposed in Texas. There are laws about keeping right when driving below the flow of traffic, but these laws are virtually unenforced, and the public ignores them.

People here seem to believe that they have a constitutional right to go as slowly as they like, in whatever lane they choose. I remember seeing large signs at the entrances to the Oklahoma Turnpike indicating: "MAXIMUM SPEED: 75 MPH. MINIMUM SPEED: 50 MPH", and wondering why anyone would possibly need reminding of this, until I realized that when I drove 80 mph, I was leaving the locals behind me in a blinding flash of light. Then again, if you had to be in Oklahoma, then you could understand why hurrying to your destination wouldn't be a priority.

Not sure what that white circle with the black hash marks is supposed to mean, but judging from the traffic speed, I'm guessing that the limit must be about 95 mph. (I assume that those roadside cameras are used to commememorate some of the more impressive performances?)

RoadWarriorFromLP

You're right, I forgot about the seat belt laws and the young drivers, too (although I suspect that not many of us here aren't affected by the latter...) Diamond lanes, too -- they do have a different meaning from place to place, you really do have to read the signs to know what is required.

The DUI limit is now .08 across the country, and I believe that open container laws are now in effect everywhere. Once upon a time, the limits varied quite a bit, and some permitted passengers (or even drivers) to possess open containers, but that's pretty much history now.

Big D

It means go like ****! Sorry no - it means national speed limit applies - which is 60 or 70 on dual carriageways (divided highways) a limit that was set years ago and is seriously out of date for the vehicles we drive today (in europe) so the norm is to drive at 80 - 90 in the UK and the police aren't interested unless you are over 80 in most cases.

Cameras are a revenue generator - end of story

Toontje

As a truck driver I have to disagree. I am grateful that all trucks are equiped with speed limiters. If they weren't all (or most) truck drivers would think they were Nigel Mansell or Michael Schumacher and they would drive like madmen. Driving at speeds over 60mph with trucks weighing 40 tons in a congested Europe doesn't seem an attractive idea to me. Just think about the distance such truck needs to come to a full stop....

Big D

yes but you should be able to over-ride it to get out of dangerous situations or overtake for brief periods

RoadWarriorFromLP

Bloody hell, I was joking, I know the speed limits! I spend too much time exceeding them not to.

Trust me, I've been very watchful of the GATSO's...and yet despite my caution, that still didn't prevent me from once getting a parking ticket for being overparked for literally thirty seconds! I do hope it's possible for a metermaid to suffer death-by-clamping.

By the way, you can thank these guys for getting rid of our abysmal 55 mph limit. (Good riddance to that): http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...on&btnG=Search

Big D

Sorry assumed you to be yank and ignorant of British ways - plus have had my humour gland removed this afternoon by a bunch of incompetant staff

Toontje

Sorry but I have to disagree again. To get out of dangerous situations you would need the acceleration power of a formula 1 car and a truck surely doesn't have that. And why would you need to overtake if the truck in front of you is driving at the speed limit?

RoadWarriorFromLP

I am a Yank, but I've been to the UK perhaps once or twice. (OK, I read about it once, but it's too far to visit, and the food scares me.)

You do know that "humor" has only one "u", don't you?