Wow - I never thought turning would be so difficult. For those having never driven in Philadelphia, or the Northeast I presume, they don’t believe in protected left turns here. What that means is you get no arrow. Just a green light. And if there’s oncoming traffic, forget about it. You’ll be lucky to squeak your way through just after the yellow light has turned red.

I grew up in Texas, where *most* left turns offer a brief protected period followed by a “yield” situation. I always thought this was the norm. After all, why put the decision to turn or not to turn into the drivers hands? Doesn’t that create more confusion and potential for trouble? I always appreciated a green arrow because it takes the thinking out of driving. Now you end up with a tense situation every time you try to take a left. 

None of the above even scratches the surface of the efficiency in allowing maybe TWO cars to actually to take a left in an unprotected situation but I guess that’s really a concern left to the city of Philadelphia…