A right turn on red is legal, if you do it right

Q: About once a week, Seattle resident Jim Jones picks up his partner from work at his downtown job. His route takes him onto South Dearborn Street as he approaches the south end of the downtown area. He says he stays in Dearborn's far-right lane to turn onto one-way Fourth Avenue South, and when the light is red, he pulls out a bit to make sure no one is coming and then makes a right turn on a red light.

He hasn't spotted any signs prohibiting what's often called a free right.

Still, he said, "I have never seen anyone else do this, and often have to sit behind someone at the intersection until the light turns green.

"I sometimes get funny looks from other drivers when I make my turn. Is this legal?"

A: We've said it before: Yes, it is legal to turn right on a red arrow, as long as there are no signs posted restricting the turn. But before turning, drivers must come to a complete stop — as with a solid red signal — and be on guard that the turn will not endanger other drivers or pedestrians legally within or approaching the intersection, says Brian Kemper, the Transportation Department's traffic-signal operations manager.

Q: Some time ago, Seattle's Transportation Department installed left-turn signals on 24th Avenue East at Boyer Avenue East, in an area some folks consider North Capitol Hill and others call the Montlake neighborhood.

Not long ago, the city returned and did some street repaving. That, a neighborhood resident says, seems to have screwed up the sensors embedded in the street. Instead of the directional turn arrows only illuminating when a car is waiting, he said, now the left arrow northbound lights up at odd times — like when a vehicle is waiting in the adjacent lane.

The neighbor just wanted the appropriate transportation unit to know about the problem.

A: Here's the story on that intersection: The embedded vehicle-detector for the northbound left-turn lane was indeed damaged during the paving project, says Kemper, the Transportation Department's traffic-signal operations manager. To compensate for that, the signal has been programmed to give left-turning traffic the green light during each signal cycle.

The detection equipment is scheduled to be repaired this month, Kemper said, and the signal should be restored to normal operation.