small > wrote:

> I'm in a new town. I don't feel comfortable turning
> right-on-red with the amount of traffic...If I don't
> feel comfortable, would it be a mistake to turn?

It's a mistake to do anything you don't feel comfortable
doing. It's *your* decision, and *your* responsibility.
The responsibility that comes with driving. If you're
not comfortable with that responsibility, you shouldn't
be driving. Big city driving is always the same:
extremely defensive, slightly offensive, and a little
bit animal. You may need to adjust a bit yourself.

With that said, I live in a town where many drivers
have decided that right turns on red are mandatory
(they're not), that any car-sized gap in the cross
traffic is fair game (it isn't), and that microsecond
delays are apparently a matter of life and death (yeah,
right...).

Since my car is lots lower than the SUVs that pollute
our roads, I often can't even *see* the cross traffic,
and occasionally get honked at myself. If it's
safe, I proceed. If it's not, I don't. The decision
is mine, and always will be. I don't give a ****
what the honking moron behind me thinks.

Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Yeah but no but
Grid: CN89mg yeah but no but..."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - V. Pollard