Hook turn

Hook turn sign, Melbourne

A hook turn is a special right-turn manouvre required in parts of Melbourne, Australia. A hook turn is where a motorist turns right at an intersection from the leftmost lane of traffic. There are thirteen hook turn intersections in the CBD, and a number in South Melbourne.

In Australia, traffic drives on the left-hand side of the road. Therefore, right-turning traffic must cross traffic driving in the opposite direction. The hook turn allows motorists to wait on the left side of the road for opposing traffic, as well as continuing traffic, to stop at the traffic signal before turning through the intersection. It is designed to prevent right-turning traffic from impeding the progress of trams, which run down the centre of roads (and thus would be delayed by traffic waiting to turn right from the conventional place).

Usage

• At intersections where the "Right Turn from Left Lane only" sign is present, motorists are not allowed to make a traditional right-turn. Motorists intending to turn right must instead follow the hook turn procedure described below.
• At intersections without the sign, hook turns are disallowed.

The Procedure

Vehicles waiting in line for signal change prior to turning right.

Prepare

1. Keep left: You must be in the leftmost lane to execute a hookturn, as if you were making a left turn.
   
2. Indicate: Use your right-turn signal to indicate the hook turn at least 30 metres prior to the intersection.
   
3. Enter: Using the left turning lane, enter the intersection (when the traffic signal is green), and move half-way into the intersection (as pictured).

Wait & Watch

You may only turn when the traffic signal of the cross-road changes to green (after your traffic signal changes to red) and it is safe to proceed. While waiting for the light to change, be aware of the following hazards:

• traffic approaching from behind: Some people do run red lights. Be careful.
• pedestrians: Pedestrians have the right-of-way over turning vehicles at all times in Victoria. Be aware of pedestrians on your right, who you may need to give way (yield the right-of-way) to.
• emergency vehicles: Emergency vehicles have the right-of-way at all times. If you hear sirens or see emergency lights, activate your hazard lights and do not proceed.

Execute

Vehicles executing right-turn manoeuvre after signal change.

As soon as the traffic light turns yellow, do a final safety check for the aforementioned hazards. Once the cross-road signal changes to green, immediately execute the turn.

Note: The "wait" rule has changed numerous times. Motorists used to be permitted to conduct the hookturn as soon as the signal changed to amber, and it was safe to turn. The current revision of Victoria's road rules demand that the motorist wait until the "traffic lights on the road they are entering into turn green". The City of Melbourne website, and other publications, contain obsolete information, indicating that it is permissible to execute the turn on amber or red. The interpretation of the law is that, the queue of cars which has entered the intersection and stopped in the left lane has joined onto the front of the queue for the street into which they are turning. They now obey the rules of driving forward through an intersection, and as such turn only once the lights have gone green.

Completion

Turning manoeuvres are completed and traffic proceeds on cross street.

Cross-traffic now proceeds with a green light.

Reasons for use

Primarily, the hook turn allows both the clear passage of trams (which are common in Melbourne) and alleviates right-turning drivers from having to wait or check that there are no trams crossing the driver's path. In the central city, cars are generally not allowed to travel on tram lanes (although it is allowed in the suburbs), so dedicated right-turn lanes are not possible.

The manoeuvre also allows the passage of traffic wishing to continue straight ahead unobstructed. Assuming there is no tram line and the hook turn is not used, drivers who wish to travel straight ahead at an intersection must enter the left-turning lane and continue straight past the right-turning traffic (and may need to merge back into the right lane if the intersection leads to a road which has one lane partially reserved for parking). Inconsistently such a rule is not found, for example, in other cites with trams, such as, Toronto, Canada, where they simply halt left turning cars (note that in Canada motorists drive on the right) to allow the passage of streetcars (trams), even though cities in Canada have a wide and well planned street layout, as does Melbourne.

Prevalence

Hook turn intersections are found primarily in the Melbourne Central Business District (downtown) area and its immediate surrounds.

Cyclists

Unlike motorists, cyclists are permitted to make hook turns at all intersections in Victoria, Australia.

Controversy

Hook turns, in reality, do not require drivers to judge a gap between cars coming the other direction, however, drivers do need to watch for traffic from the rear, oncoming traffic, traffic from the left side, pedestrians on your right side, emergency vehicles and trams: the latter three of which have absolute right-of-way. Nevertheless, hook turns are found only in the inner city, and most people encounter them only very rarely, and as such find them daunting and try to avoid them. This fear was celebrated in the TISM song Get Thee In My Behind, Satan, comparing the feat of performing a hook turn on Swanston Street to various comical implausibilities; Swanston Street provided the most notorious instance of a hook turn for drivers in the CBD, prior to the closure of the street to car traffic in the 1990s.

In 2003, it was announced that all intersections in Clarendon St, South Melbourne would become hook turn intersections, the first time that there were hook turns outside of the CBD. Residents and business owners in the area protested vigorously, claiming that motorists found hook turns confusing, and they would hence lose business. Other businesses argued that they would lose parking spaces. One year after their introduction, residents and business owners continued to complain about the hook turns.

External links

• VicRoads: Information for tourists about Victoria's road rules (See "Hook Turns" section)
• Driving in the City (Melbourne)
• Animation of the hook turn manoeuvre
• The Clarendon St Campaign - Site opposing hook turns in the context of a tram project