Hook turns

No phrase instils more fear in the hearts of Melburnians than “turn right from the left lane”

HOOK TURNS SEEM so counterintuitive – veering left, waiting, and turning right when the opposite lights turn green. Hook turns were introduced in Melbourne to facilitate tram movement. Cars don’t bank up over the tramlines to turn right, meaning other cars, bikes and trams can continue to move straight. The hook turn in Melbourne’s CBD was formalised in the 1950s, when traffic congestion began to increase. Melbourne isn’t the only city in the world that uses hook turns, but it is the only city where a hook turn facilitates tram movement. So what’s so great about hook turns? They make the public transport network run more smoothly. Professor Graham Currie, director of Public Transport Research Group at Monash University, and research fellow James Reynolds did a study in 2011 of hook turns and found that a hook turn saves a tram 11.25 to 15.64 seconds per intersection. That might not seem like much, but without hook turns, trams would get stuck behind cars turning right. To make up for those delays, more trams would be needed, at an estimated cost of $15-$25 million. The study also found hook turn intersections are safer than normal intersections because of the reduced number of right turns, “which are the most dangerous form of traffic movement there is,” says Currie. There are currently 49 hook turns in Melbourne, and Currie says we should be proud of each and every one. “This is something clever that we’ve always done which we should be taking credit for.” Rebecca Russo