Synthesis on the Safety of Right Turn on Red in the United States and Canada

The Government of Quebec is currently considering the introduction of right turn on red (RTOR) at signalized intersections in Quebec, with the possible exception of the City of Montreal. The Province of Quebec and New York City are the only jurisdictions in North America where the RTOR is not permitted. Following more than 25 years of intense political debates, the Government agreed in 2000 to commission a policy study, aimed at either adopting or rejecting the RTOR once and for all. In order to fully understand all the issues surrounding the introduction of such a measure, the Ministry of Transportation of Quebec (MTQ) mandated the author of this paper to perform a study on the safety, traffic operational improvements, and other characteristics resulting from RTOR based on information gathered from various agencies in the United States and Canada. The study aimed at collecting crash statistics; gathering and reviewing recent research documents and papers; and surveying the opinions of transportation experts and researchers on this topic. The outcome of this study shows that the RTOR is not a dangerous maneuver at signalized intersections for either vehicles or pedestrians in most circumstances. The people interviewed in this study have corroborated this outcome. In short, the proportion of RTOR crashes is usually very low (less than 0.5% of all crashes in a given jurisdiction) and, in the event of crash, the outcome is generally not severe. Based on the respondents’ comments, it is obvious that many transportation professionals do not consider the RTOR to be a safety problem. The author addresses several issues and unanswered questions on the safety and traffic operational enhancements resulting from RTOR. The final decision as to whether or not introduce the RTOR in Quebec resides with government officials and should be based on the characteristics presented in this research, but should also consider the habits of Quebec drivers and the crossing behavior of pedestrians at signalized intersections.