We were in the Arlington Square exit, waiting to cross Rt 44 into Adams:
If we both line up on the traffic signal sensor loop, it seems to detect us; Mary’s on the right side of the loop, I’m rolling along the left side. This seems to be an old-school dipole loop, not a quadrupole.
Despite the fact that the mall entrance lane is to our left, across that substantial median strip and exactly where you’d expect it, a driver turned left from Rt 44 into the mall exit:
He obviously intended to use the lane we were occupying, because it’s the right-hand lane from his direction (where we were obviously not supposed to be), but veered away at the last moment:
Which was a good thing for all parties concerned, including the car approaching us in the proper lane:
Elapsed time: five seconds.
The driver then turned right, head-on against cars exiting from the parking lot and parallel-broadside with a pickup entering in the proper lane, and somehow didn’t collide with anybody or anything.
From where we sat, there was absolutely nothing we could do but watch death roll toward us.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
Comments
7 responses to “No Turning Back, Vehicular Division”
That is scary glad nothing happen but still scary
As nearly as we can tell, the driver just screwed up, exactly like we all do every now & again…
The replacement hood implies that it’s a bit more often for that driver…
Good point.
We once watched somebody back out of a parking spot directly into a passing car. We’d have been far more sympathetic if her car didn’t already have four crunched corners.
I think he has a problem with, uh, substances…
This might be a bit too Dutch for you, but Rotterdam is doing a test with bicycle traffic lights that give precedence to cyclists if there are more than 15 waiting. (Normally they’re on a timer.)
https://tweakers.net/nieuws/115995/rotterdams-verkeerslicht-heeft-ir-cameras-voor-sneller-groen-licht-bij-drukte.html
Btw, I can’t help but notice that there doesn’t seem to be a (back of a) sign indicating where the car should go. The kind that explicitly exists to make this kind of situation less likely: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nederlands_verkeersbord_D2.svg
Around here, it’s a rare day when any intersection has more than zero bicyclists waiting for the light! [sigh]
There may once have been a guide sign near the end of that brick-covered median between the entrance and exit lanes:
http://www.roadtrafficsigns.com/Traffic-Control-Sign/Keep-Right-Symbol-Sign/SKU-X-R4-7.aspx
I doubt it would have made much difference …