Philbrick: Is the convenience of turning right on red worth the risk?

At a busy intersection downtown, a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk just as a car, eager to make a right turn on red, inches forward. The driver glances left for oncoming traffic, but doesn’t see the person crossing until the last second.

Moments like this frequently play out across California and the nation, and recent research has policymakers reexamining the safety of turning right at red lights as an everyday traffic movement. Originally introduced in the 1970s as an energy-saving measure, right turn on red has since become standard practice at signalized intersections. But as cities prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety, some are reconsidering whether this decades-old rule still makes sense in today’s urban landscape.

On March 24, San Jose recorded its seventh traffic death — and fifth pedestrian death — of 2025. Although California’s traffic deaths are generally trending down, there are still thousands dying on our roads each year and tens of thousands across the country. Efforts like Vision Zero, which aim to eliminate traffic deaths, have helped spur research on how to prevent harm on our streets — and one of the latest approaches has been rethinking right turn on red policies.

New research shows right-turn collisions at signalized intersections were responsible for more than 39,000 collisions and 217 fatalities involving pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers between 2011 and 2022 in California. Half of those collisions involved a pedestrian or cyclist.

Analysis of this data and other existing research shows right turn on red maneuvers are generally unsafe for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. The research also indicates right turn on red movements are “only marginally useful in lowering emissions and only in certain contexts,” and even less so as internal combustion engine technology improves and electric vehicles become more commonplace.

Recently, Washington, D.C. banned right turns on red, joining New York City in an effort to protect vulnerable road users. A handful of California cities, including Berkeley and San Francisco, are also considering getting rid of it, but current state-level policies may present a barrier to this shift toward safety.

Although some individuals argue eliminating turning right at red lights will not decrease traffic deaths, the most recent data available indicate prohibiting it may improve the safety and livability of urban streets and be an important part of broader efforts like Vision Zero to make a safer, better future for our communities.

The Walk Safe San Jose pedestrian safety plan was created in response to the concerning numbers of traffic deaths in the city. From 2009 to 2018, traffic deaths grew 37% while the city’s population grew by less than 10%. Since then, walking continues to be a relatively low share of travel modes, but accounted for 46% of traffic fatalities citywide in 2022. What if eliminating right turns on red could save even some of these lives?

Experts recommend cities individually determine whether they want to ban right turn on red movements based on the specific contextual factors of the types of places and intersections they have and the type of city they want to be. Ultimately, cities and policymakers should prioritize safety through informed decision making.

Ask yourself: Is the convenience of turning right at red lights worth the risk, or is it time to rethink this decades-old policy in the name of safety?

San José Spotlight columnist Karen E. Philbrick is the executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, a research institute focusing on multimodal surface transportation policy and management issues. Her columns appear on the first Thursday of every other month.