Restriction of turning movements

 RESTRICTION OF TURNING MOVEMENTS

The Traffic Engineer is authorized to determine specific intersections at which the operators of vehicles shall not make a right turn, left turn, U-turn, or a right turn against a red or stop signal, and shall place proper signs and/or markings giving notice thereof.

• Raised medians are often considered as an effective technique to restrict turning movement.
• They also provide the added benefit of corridor aesthetics. 
• Turn restriction alternatives effectively address the safety and operational needs of the transportation network. 
• Turn restrictions may be located at:

• Access point
• Roadway and 
• Combined restriction configurations

• The  goal  of  imposing restriction of turning movements  is  to  save  lives  by  identifying  new  safety  strategies  that  effectively  reduce  crashes  and  to  promote  those  strategies  for  nationwide  implementation  by  providing  measures  of  their  safety  effectiveness  and  benefit–cost  (B/C)  ratios. 
• The restriction has been imposed by using physical barriers. 
• Turning movement restrictions are a type of  access  management  strategy  used  to  improve  the  safety  of  stop-controlled  intersections  and  driveways.
• Restricted  and  prohibited  turn  movements  reduce  the  number  of  turning  conflict  points  at  intersections, which are generally known to reduce crash risk. 
• The   median   physically   blocks  turns  into  and  out  of  the  intersecting   street. 
• While  restricting  turns  is  expected  to  provide  a  safety  improvement  in  most  cases,  limited  information  is  available  about  the  quantitative  safety  effects  of  these  practices  and  their  effects  on   downstream   intersections. 
• A  composite  finding  suggested  that,  in  general,  a  raised  median  is  safer  than  undivided roadways, especially on roads with more than 20,000 vehicles per day.