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Permalink Reply by Davo on September 21, 2011 at 5:28am

If it is safe, go ahead and get in front of the cars. As far as being to the right or left of the lane, I always pick the lane that has the most room. This sometimes means I have to weave between cars because they don't know how to follow each other in a straight line. Just beware that if this isn't a "turn only lane" the cars you pass might not be looking for you on the left side.

 

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Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on September 21, 2011 at 9:46am

I think what you're describing is both legal and also the safest thing to do, and if you're approaching the intersection while the light is green and you can feel that bus/car behind you, take the full lane. 

 

There's no sign, but a good example of where that's critical is northbound on Elston as you cross Ashland.  I actually take the full lane that's one over from what is technically the right-turn only lane, as FAR too many drivers don't realize until the last second that they aren't in the right turn lane, yet they turn anyway.  I'll happily take a ticket and my 5 minutes to raise hell in court over getting flattened.

 

In general, I try to keep in mind that a driver's "blind spot" is approximately 3 to 6 o'clock from the driver's perspective.  So you definitely do not either want to enter that zone, nor to allow a car to get ahead of you with the same result - that's what may lead to someone trying to turn right directly in front of (or into) you. 

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