Left turns are not only dangerous, but they’re also inefficient. Delivery service UPS banned left turns for its drivers back in 2004, and in 2012 reported saving more than 10 million gallons of gas, plus it reduced carbon emissions by 100,000 metric tons. Now, popular navigation app Waze is bringing a “no left turns” policy to its navigation directions.
CNET:
Now Waze, the crowd-sourced traffic app owned by Google, is joining in the anti-left-turn crowd by offering a new feature to Los Angeles drivers. Waze will effectively seek routes that doesn’t include a left turn, and when it finds one it will calculate to see whether it will cost more time. If not, you’re off to right-turn land. The feature is already available and was announced Friday.
If you’re really attached to left turns, or simply don’t want to be told to turn right all of the time, (politics be damned), you can shut off the feature if you prefer. But, unless you’re a left coaster who lives in Los Angeles, you won’t need to worry about it for awhile.
Los Angeles Routes
Waze says the routes weren’t calculated completely by computer, but instead were designed by working with LA residents to design the modified routes:
“To identify which intersections cause Angelenos the most pain, we worked closely with the local map editor and employee community. They shared lists of what they perceived to be the most difficult intersections and provided alternate solutions. We also received a tremendous amount of support from our Connected Citizens Program partner, the City of Los Angeles, who helped us understand this hyperlocal challenge from a municipal perspective.”
Considering the process, it could be quite awhile before “no left turns” comes to your locale. New Orleans is next on the list, but Waze didn’t give an estimated time of arrival. Which is a bit ironic, when you think about it…
