Looking For Help When It Comes To The Rules Of The Road

To the Editor:

Many of us would appreciate it if the Newtown Police would clarify some of the rules of the road. Specifically; under what circumstances is it OK to pass on the right when a vehicle is turning left? Is it OK only if there is an established lane? If that’s the case, there would be no passing anyone turning left at the flagpole, turning left from Route 6 to 25 at Hot Shots, and (amazingly) no passing any one turning left from Route 34 onto Wasserman Way by the high school. How about this scenario: If someone is turning left into Fair Auto at 5 pm, if I have enough room and proceed with caution, am I allowed to pass him on the right? Or, must I by law wait and watch 30 cars line up behind me? How far would traffic get backed up if this were the case? How many hours of time and gallons of gasoline would be wasted if no one ever passed a left-turning car without a lane?

I remember years ago, a policeman telling me it was OK to pass as long as there weren’t hazardous road conditions at the time. In relation to the flag pole, I remember the police making a statement once in a Bee article that said the flag pole was technically classified as a rotary. Well, no one ever has to stop in the middle of a rotary to turn left, so I think we need more to go on than that.

At Hot Shots and the high school the white line widens as if to accommodate two lanes and there are two traffic lights hanging there as if to greet two lanes, and yet the Newtown police are issuing citations to people that pass left-turning vehicles there because there is no “established lane.” Not, of course, during rush hour — when hundreds of people are doing it — but rather at other times of day, to lone, unsuspecting motorists. Could it be legal only at certain times of day? Probably not. This would seem to be entrapment. The rules of the road should make sense and not be selectively enforced, and the visual cues should not be ambiguous.

I think that in the interest of community relations, the Newtown Police should publish a weekly column in The Bee on what the actual traffic laws say, why we have them, and what their protocol is for enforcement. This would be a great way to clear up confusion, reduce anxiety, and get us all on the same page.

Randi Kiely

18 Botsford Hill Road, Newtown                               August 31, 2008