What is the difference between permissive and protected left turns?
A protected left turn is when a left turn signal displays a red arrow or solid when the green arrow or yellow arrow or solid is not lit; the left-turning vehicle must wait for a green left arrow to turn. A permissive left turn is when no left arrow is lit but no red indicator applies solely to left-turning traffic, such as in a “doghouse” signal ( example O at http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003r1/part4/fig4d-03_longdesc.htm ); traffic can turn left without an arrow yielding to oncoming traffic as if there were no arrow as part of the assembly, as with a standard red-yellow-green signal with no turn restrictions. Some places, notably MA, use a left turn arrow for permissive movements instead of protected movements. See the MUTCD http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003r1/part4/part4d.htm#section4D06 for more details on left turn signals. Sep 9, 2004 ——————————————————————————– 12 General miscellaneous 12.
A protected left turn is when a left turn signal displays a red arrow or solid when the green arrow or yellow arrow or solid is not lit; the left-turning vehicle must wait for a green left arrow to turn. A permissive left turn is when no left arrow is lit but no red indicator applies solely to left-turning traffic, such as in a “doghouse” signal ( example O at http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003r1/part4/fig4d-03_longdesc.htm ); traffic can turn left without an arrow yielding to oncoming traffic as if there were no arrow as part of the assembly, as with a standard red-yellow-green signal with no turn restrictions. Some places, notably MA, use a left turn arrow for permissive movements instead of protected movements. See the MUTCD http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003r1/part4/part4d.htm#section4D06 for more details on left turn signals.
