Careful, Seattle drivers: Your right to turn on red is going away

Seattle has historically allowed drivers to turn right on a red light. That luxury is going away.

Seattle will soon have more "No Turn On Red" signs throughout downtown. The city is increasing the number of intersections where it forbids cars from turning right at a red light. The aim is to reduce pedestrians getting hit.

There are currently 28 intersections that already restrict such a right turn, but the goal is to put these restrictions in place at a total of 41 new downtown locations (at the start of 2023, Seattle already restricted this type of turn at 100 locations).

"Let’s not trade people’s safety so people in cars can save a few seconds of waiting for their turn to go," Seattle Department of Transportation Director Greg Spotts said in a statement. "Adding 40 'No Turn on Red' intersections downtown is the first step in our plan to expand this proven safety measure to pedestrian-dense neighborhoods."

In other words, there is potential for Seattle to restrict right turns at red lights in other parts of the city over the coming year.

This is part of the city's Vision Zero initiative to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by the year 2030. The Seattle Department of Transportation argues that turning right at red lights "is linked to a 60% increase in people being hit by turning cars."

According to a statement on SDOT's blog:

"Turning right at a red light was illegal in most cities, including Seattle, until a few decades ago. Seattle did not make it legal to turn right at a red light until 1959. In 1975, the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act required all states to allow right turns on red to reduce fuel consumption, estimating a travel time savings of 1-5 seconds for turning vehicles."

But studies since that time, the city's transportation department notes, have indicated a greater risk of hitting pedestrians when turning on red lights is allowed. In Seattle, the department says that 9% of collisions involving people crossing the street are from cars turning right at a red light.

A caution for folks driving to the All-Star Baseball game in July — the transporation says it plans to have all the new "No Turn On Red" signs in place before the game comes to town.