2 Friday, August 25, 2017 brooklintowncrier.com Left No Turn Don't Less than Half the Picture By Richard Bercuson In our endless quest to provide readers with the latest in fascinating research coupled with the occasional bombastic burst, here's my wailful moan: turning left around here is a miserable experience. Maybe it's the same everywhere. Except I don't live everywhere, just here. For instance, attempting a left turn onto or from Winchester Road is enough to make you gnaw on the steering wheel (But don't do it. It's considered distracted driving). You spy a wee space in the traffic flow, just wide enough for you zip into if you gun it. What you're actually doing is challenging drivers' civility as well as their own understanding of the laws of physics. For the sake of those of you who see me wanting to slip into the traffic flow, I did miserably in high school physics. Similarly, turning left onto Baldwin from any side street where there's no light or from a parking lot is life-threatening. Parked cars block your vision while trucks don't feel a compunction to help anyone anywhere anytime. Reading minds Even the charming T-intersection at Carnwith and Watford, a three and a half-way stop (one is from a shared housing road), involves reading minds. Who proceeds first? Who goes second? Why should it be me? Which is considered the main road, Watford or Carnwith? Who are you to say so? What if I don't like the driver on my right? What if my hurriedness is more important than yours? Let's look at Cassels Road, a beauty, as Don Cherry might say if driving were a blood sport, which it is along that stretch. Leave aside that the speed limit is regarded as an annoyance. The road serves as a scenic sightseeing test strip between Grass Park and the first stop sign at Queen St. "And now folks, if you look to the right, there's a charming little daycare centre...gosh, those littl'uns do dart out without warning, don't they?" If you must turn left onto or from Cassels, be prepared to rev those RPMs. UPS knows The UPS company has known for years about avoiding left turns. Its drivers go a bit farther and longer but save fuel by only turning right. This isn't quite so practical for the rest of us when a 15-minute jaunt becomes 20 just to avoid left turns. You can test this hypothesis by navigating from your home to a few select spots in Brooklin using only right turns. Left turns are also more dangerous for non-vehicular traffic. A recent New York City study found that pedestrians, cyclists, and runners are much more susceptible to grievous bodily harm from left-turning vehicles than from the right. As well, more American research says that 60% of collisions at intersections with traffic signals involve left hand turns and only 4% with right turns. Basically, if you're turning left in these parts and are slow on the gas pedal, you're doomed. You have been warned. "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 • editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905.655.7642 Email: yeswomanbrooklin@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, September 8, 2017 Deadline: Friday, September 1, 2017