> Indeed, the turn-on-red rule in the US seems to work inverse to how I've seen it elsewhere – i.e. it's always allowed unless there's specific signage saying it isn't.
Driving laws vary widely by state. You cannot say "$x is [il]legal in the US" because it's likely there's at least one state where the inverse is true. That being said, my state does allow turning on red unless it's explicitly prohibited, including left turns if you are on a one-way street turning onto a one-way street.
> I kept thinking that sometimes it's got to be smarter to turn right than go straight ahead, when there's a red light, even if it may be a longer drive.
The city I live in actually times the light cycles to prevent this, you will end up exactly where you would have been had you not turned, or behind.
Having been across the US, I would say that the right-on-red rule is so consistent that you can say it's legal in the US. It's just a rule with an exception.
According to Wikipedia [1], "as of 1992, right turn on red is governed federally by 42 U.S.C. § 6322(c)", which reads [2]:
> Each proposed State energy conservation plan to be eligible
> for Federal assistance under this part shall include [...]
> a traffic law or regulation which, to the maximum extent
> practicable consistent with safety, permits the operator of a
> motor vehicle to turn such vehicle right at a red stop light
> after stopping and to turn such vehicle left from a one-way
> street onto a one-way street at a red light after stopping
This is not "governed federally". Making a state eligible for Federal assistance is not the same as being a legal requirement. How you confuse these things is an example a simple comprehension failure or possibly someone who doesn't understand US law to any degree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on_red shows a handy little map in the bottom right highlighting the differences between states.
The portion you take issue with is a quote from the same article that you're referring to, and clearly marked as such. I'm sorry that your "comprehension failure" insult backfired.
By the way, the map on the bottom right is for left turns on red, which isn't the topic here.
Driving laws vary widely by state. You cannot say "$x is [il]legal in the US" because it's likely there's at least one state where the inverse is true. That being said, my state does allow turning on red unless it's explicitly prohibited, including left turns if you are on a one-way street turning onto a one-way street.
> I kept thinking that sometimes it's got to be smarter to turn right than go straight ahead, when there's a red light, even if it may be a longer drive.
The city I live in actually times the light cycles to prevent this, you will end up exactly where you would have been had you not turned, or behind.