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Should I Turn Left or Right?

Years ago, one of the first things I remember about meeting my future Mother-in-law is that she didn’t like to drive.  She disliked driving so much that she would plan her daily driving route with right hand turns only, avoiding any destination that would require her to make a left hand turn.  Turns out Mother know best.

All these years later there is a plethora of data proving that left hand turns are dangerous, costly and a waste of time. 

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Association shows that turning left is one of the leading critical pre-crash events.   Occurring in 22.2 % of the crashes versus 1.2% for right hand turns.  Further, left hand turns are three times more likely to kill pedestrians than right hand turns.

Waiting to turn left at an intersection is less fuel efficient and harder on your engine because the vehicle is idling longer.  How many times have you sat through a traffic light waiting to turn left?  Sometimes you have to sit at a light two or three times before you can go.  Then of course there are the costs incurred as a result of collision if one occurs. 

Now with GPS technology, large trucking companies like UPS are able to map routes for drivers with as few left turns as possible.  And if you think that is causing less efficient routes, you may be surprised to find that it is not.   Efficiency is improved with the trucks continuously moving and they are saving millions of gallons of fuel each year.