Beware – the northbound right lane on Waters Place could be a potential moving violation trap!
The ‘T’ intersection of Waters Place and Eastchester Road is a safety hazard for drivers and a hot spot for drivers who, unknowingly, make illegal turns onto Eastchester Road, even though there is no turn signage present.
According to drivers who use Waters Place and Eastchester Road, the potentially dangerous scenario has only gotten worse, as cars have been pulled over by the police for making left turns from a right lane which appears as a middle lane to motorists.
Back in July, Nancy Devore, a local resident and former employee of Montefiore Medical Center, was driving northbound on the two lane Waters Place, although a wide parking lane creates the illusion that Waters Place has three lanes.
She made the left turn onto Eastchester Road from the right lane and was pulled over by a police car. A car, in front of her car, had also been pulled over a few minutes earlier.
She received a moving violation ticket for making an improper turn, even though the intersection of Waters Place and Eastchester Road has no turn-only signage for any lanes.
Devore added that she has seen many cars turn left from the right lane for years, which helps drivers make wider turns and avoid collisions with oncoming traffic from both direction on Eastchester Road, without any issue.
“Drivers are turning left from the right lane – which appears as a middle lane, because it is the safest option for them,” said Devore, who explained that turning left from the left lane on Waters Place puts cars in jeopardy of being hit from vehicles going in both directions, but particularly vehicles traveling northbound, on Eastchester Road. “We need proper signage at this intersection – at least give people a chance to get into the proper lane to make a turn before they are pulled over. Right now, there is no signage saying that drivers can’t turn left from the right lane.”
When Devore went to fight the ticket last month at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles at 696 E. Fordham Road, after waiting nine months to get a hearing, she witnessed others fighting the same ticket and telling stories about the same left turn she had made.
She even saw a stack of tickets at the hearing officer’s desk – which she believes pertained to the same left-hand turn she was ticketed for.
Devore’s ticket costs $138 and two points on her license, which resulted in an increase in her car insurance rate.
“I have no problem paying the fine and moving on – but I don’t want points on my license for something that is unjustified,” she added.
“However – this is not about me and my situation, this is about improving the signage on Waters Place to create a safer scenario for drivers,” Devore concluded.
According to the DOT, the green light at the T intersection (no head-on traffic) of Waters Place and Eastchester Road has a two-phase signal – a green light for the right lane and a green light arrow for the left lane.
The agency also confirmed that the vacant parking lane which is commonly mistaken as a right lane, is there to allow large vehicles space to turn.