No right turn except for two stages is an instruction that may not mean much to motorists, but cyclists should be very familiar with it.
The words are on a road sign that was hailed by London Mayor Boris Johnson when it was introduced to the capital nearly eight years ago – but do you know what it means?
The first such measure was installed at a junction in Bethnal Green, East London, before similar junctions were built in Edinburgh and Southampton.
The two-stage bend was designed to protect cyclists in 2015 – but even cycling groups are critical of it.
So, asks MailOnline…would you know what to do when you approach one of these blue signs, or a traffic light that says ‘no right turn, except in two stages’?
No right turn – except for two stages: these road signs are all over London…but would you know what to do if you’re approaching one on a bike?
By bike: Cycle lane signs at the intersection of Cambridge Heath Road and Whitechapel Road in East London
Two-stage right turns have been introduced on a number of busy city roads in recent years, but motorists are still amazed by the signs marking the unusual maneuver.
The intersections are designed to protect cyclists from ‘unsafe’ right turns at intersections, so they don’t have to wait for oncoming traffic or be hit by left-turning vehicles.
Instead, a new safety measure has been launched whereby a special ‘cycle ahead light’ is added to traffic lights at the intersection, which turns green while motorists are held back at a red light.
In the first of the stages, cyclists, positioned to the left of the road, proceed to a ‘marked waiting area’ on their left.
They then position their bike 90 degrees to the right so that they face the road they want to ride to.
Cyclists are given another head start by the following traffic lights, allowing the cyclist to ride in a straight line to their destination instead of having to cross oncoming traffic.
Although it has been around for almost eight years,
The blue sign announcing the junctions reads: ‘Turn right in two stages’.
Above is an image of a bicycle with an arrow directing cyclists to position themselves in a traffic space on the road to their left, before another arrow points to proceed in a straight line across the intersection.
The safety measure has been introduced at some intersections to prevent cyclists from standing on the right side of a road and waiting for oncoming traffic before turning
The cyclist will instead move their first stop to a waiting area on their left where they will turn their bike to face the intended road opposite
A special ‘bicycle ahead light’ has been added to the traffic lights at the intersection, which changes to green while motorists are detained by red, allowing the cyclist to move away without any traffic disruption
The first two-stage right turn in Britain was introduced in London in August 2015, at the junction of Whitechapel Road and Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green.
Subsequently, interchanges have also been introduced in Edinburgh and Southampton in recent years.
Despite being advertised as ‘very easy to use’, the intersections have been criticized for being unsafe, confusing and increasing travel times.
Massive increases in cyclists during the pandemic led to a similar number of spiked riders dying on Britain’s roads – although there were minor injuries. The graph shows deaths and injuries from 2004 to 2021
Gender and age of cyclists killed or seriously injured on UK roads between 2016 and 2021
Time of the collisions: Reported KSIs of pedaling cyclists by hour of the day and day of the week from 2016 to 2021
Road type: Percentage of bicycle casualties per city and outlying area from 2016 to 2021
After a new plan was completed at Bethnal Green, then-London Cycling Campaign campaign manager Rosie Downes said it was ‘quite concerned about the delays cyclists will experience’, which may lead some to take risks to avoid the delays.
LCC still argues that two-stage right turns are not the best approach to improve cyclist safety.
Instead, they are pushing for alternatives, such as the introduction of the Circulating Cycle Stage nodes in Manchester.
These are signalized intersections where all cyclists run around the intersection at the same time.
But Transport for London said the two-stage right turns would ‘significantly reduce cyclist casualties’.
New bus stop diversions have also been introduced to allow cyclists to avoid the ‘risky’ overtaking maneuver of a bus
The bus stop bypass leaves cyclists on the left, behind the bus stop, as indicated above
Mini zebra crossings have been installed along the bicycle path, so that passengers can safely reach and board the bus
A statement added: “About 85 percent of bicycle accidents occur at intersections, usually with traffic turning.”
Then-mayor Boris Johnson said the interchanges would allow “people to cycle safely and more confidently in our city.”
New bus stop diversions have also been introduced to allow cyclists to avoid the ‘risky’ overtaking maneuver of a bus.
The bus stop bypass instead allows cyclists to turn left, behind the bus stop, onto a small bike path before rejoining the road in front.
Mini zebra crossings have been installed along the bicycle path, so that passengers can safely reach and board the bus.
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on it, we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money and use it for free. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to compromise our editorial independence.