#ITE (the Institute of Transportation Engineers) began recommending #RTOR (right turn on red) as a fuel saving measure in 1986. ITE rescinded that guidance in September 2019, writing:
"The existing [recommendation] fails to provide a sufficiently robust analysis of the impacts, especially with regards to the potential impacts on the safety of #pedestrians using #crosswalks."
ITE's full statement on rescinding the RTOR recommendation:
So, since first recommending the use of right turn on red in urban settings 37 years ago, ITE has determined a) they don't know whether allowing RTOR was safe for pedestrians, b) there was never enough data to support allowing RTOR, and c) it's no longer OK to prioritize traffic flow over safety.
@ascentale yep, and we still have strident environmentalists claiming that having to wait for pedestrians is bad for the environment because it makes them burn more gas
@ascentale Much of today's "we mustn't do anything to cause congestion" thinking is rooted in the gas crisis of the 70s. Since then the spectre of congestion has been (misguidedly) attached to so many counterproductive urban transportation policies. It's a very handy boogeyman.
@DrTCombs Traffic lights need to do more to recognize when there is a danger and turn green if you can safely go. Self driving cars prove we can see cars, bikes and pedestrians (mostly), put the same technology on traffic lights and now we can save fuel by having it turn green before you arrive when it is safe and you have slowed down to a reasonable speed (something else that can be sensed - want to enforce speed limits, just ensure that someone who drives the limit has less red lights!). Many traffic lights around me have various barriers that a driver cannot see through/around easily so the cameras/sensors can be put where it drivers cannot see and so get a better understanding of what is going on.
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