Pittsburgh left

The Pittsburgh left is imposing potential danger to the pedestrians crossing in the same direction.

The Pittsburgh left is a colloquial term for the driving social practice of a driver at an intersection who is driving straight not advancing when a red signal changes to green; instead the straight-driving driver allows the opposing, left-turning driver who do not have the legal right-of-way to turn left, often signaling their yield by flashing their headlights or with a wave. This etiquette is associated with the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, came into vogue because of the hilly terrain of the Pittsburgh region combined with the preponderance of two-lane roads.[1][2] It has been criticized for endangering pedestrians and bicyclists by disrupting the normal flow of traffic. It is an illegal[3] and controversial[4] practice.

A similar maneuver has been referred to as a Boston left[5] or New York left, but those maneuvers differ from the Pittsburgh Left; in a Boston or New York Left, the left-turning driver rushes to turn left before the straight-driving driver can advance, regardless of whether the straight-driving driver yields or not.[6]

Legality

The Pittsburgh left has no basis in law. Failing to yield to oncoming traffic while navigating a turn is a traffic violation, and is prohibited in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[3] In Ontario, Canada, such a turn is considered stunt driving under the provincial Highway Traffic Act.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Blackley, Katie. "How the Pittsburgh Left became embedded in city driving". www.wesa.fm. WESA Public Radio. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  2. ↑ Ahlin, Eileen M. (2023-06-30). Violence in the Heights: The Torn Social Fabric of Inner-City Neighborhoods. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-90819-0.
  3. 1 2 "Learning to Drive". Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PDF). Pub 95 (4-21) English Version. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing. p. 48. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  4. ↑ Mike Wereschagin (2006-06-14). "'Pittsburgh Left' seen by many as a local right". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Trib Live). Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  5. ↑ THERE'S NOTHING RIGHT ABOUT THE 'BOSTON LEFT', The Boston Globe, May 14, 2006
  6. ↑ Ben Zimmer (2013-04-07). "Boston driving: So bad it needs its own lingo? / Terrible road maneuvers, from the Boston left to the California roll". Boston Globe.
  7. ↑ O Reg 455/07, s 3(8)(iv). https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/070455
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.