‘Left turn on red’ signs to be scrapped after Brisbane trial

The ‘left turn on red’ light rules – used millions of times by Brisbane motorists – will be wound back across the city. And not everyone is happy about it. POLL

Permission to turn left on a red light will be wound back across the city following a decision by the state’s transport department that has outraged the council.

The Courier-Mail can reveal all 17 remaining ‘left turn on red’ signs are set to be removed imminently, as the council demands the department explain the decision to Brisbane residents.

The state government has defended the move to scrap the almost eight-year-long trial, insisting the decision is about pedestrian and cyclist safety and say the signs only deliver “tiny travel time savings”.

According to Brisbane City Council, traffic figures show the time saving rule has been used about 15 million times by Brisbane drivers.

Council infrastructure committee chair David McLachlan said there had not been an adequate community awareness campaign by the Transport Department ahead of the signs’ removal.

“Many motorists would have been using ‘left turn on red’ intersections for years,” Cr McLachlan said.

“Suddenly removing them without warning could result in motorists being fined for behaviour that was legal days before, or worse.

“I call on the department to rethink this decision or at the very least provide Brisbane residents with the detail evidence necessary to support it.”

Cr McLachlan said motorists appreciated the signs at “appropriate intersections”, saying they cut congestion and reduced travel times.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said a review by his department had found the rule directly caused two crashes that resulted in people requiring medical treatment.

“A QUT study found motorists using them might save up to nine seconds, but that the left turn on red rule increased the safety risk to road users, including pedestrians, at the 17 intersections that have the trial in place,” Mr Bailey said.

“It’s a not political decision.

Councillor David McLachlan. Picture: supplied.

“It’s a public safety decision based on the findings of road safety experts and supported by independent research done here in our state, across Australia and globally.”

Cr McLachlan pointed to how the initiative was still being run in other states, such as NSW and Victoria, as Mr Bailey claimed each jurisdiction except South Australia were in the process of removing the “majority” of their signs.

Under the signage rules, which have been trialled since 2013, motorists can turn left at a red light after coming to a complete stop and giving way to other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.

At one point, there were as many as 50 intersections in Brisbane where the rule applied, before successive changes by the department scaled it back to 17 sites.

The remaining sites are dotted across the city and include three intersections at Stafford, one at Sunnybank, one at Ascot, one at Moorooka and another at Paddington.