Is This The Most Confusing Intersection In St. Cloud Minnesota?

If you've ever driven through St. Cloud during a busy time of day, there's one intersection in particular that I think takes the cake, mostly because of one single traffic light.

Chances are you've found yourself sitting at 9th Avenue North and Northway Drive a time or two. Could this intersection be one of the most dangerous in St. Cloud? Not necessarily because of the intersection itself, but because drivers don't understand the 'No Right Turn' traffic signal.

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW A 'NO RIGHT TURN' TRAFFIC SIGNAL WORKS?

If you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about. This is not just your standard “no turn on red” sign. This is an actual signal — and when it’s lit up, it means you are not legally allowed to make a right turn, no matter what the other traffic lights are doing, until the 'No Right Turn' signal is off, but not everyone gets that. As a matter of fact, it appears that only about 50% of the drivers understand it. I might be wrong, but I drive through that intersection at least once or twice every day, and it's worrisome what angry drivers are doing.

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I’ve seen drivers honk at others who are obeying it. I’ve seen people get frustrated, tailgate, throw their hands up in the air, and even back up in the middle of traffic just to go around a driver who’s doing the right thing. One time, I even saw someone yell out the window like the other driver had done something wrong. They hadn’t.

PLEASE LEARN HOW THIS SIGNAL LIGHT WORKS

The 'No Turn On Red' signal isn’t there to annoy people. It's there for safety. Sometimes it’s because of crossing pedestrians. Other times, it’s because of traffic patterns people can’t see from where they’re sitting in their vehicles.

I get it. We're all in a hurry, especially during rush hour. But no one wants to be the person who gets a ticket or causes an accident just because they didn’t understand the sign. And frankly, the driver who obeys that signal doesn’t deserve to be treated like they’re the one doing it wrong. How would you feel if you were honking and trying to force that driver into traffic that they can't see coming, and they drove ahead because of the pressure you were putting on them? What if something terrible happened to them? People have died at this intersection. I live close by and have personally heard at least three crashes from my home, about a block away. I've called 911 on two of those occasions just in case someone at the scene did not.

DMV SAYS

Here are some notes from the DMV.

OTHER STORIES: St. Cloud Academy Offers Peek Into Police Training This Fall

PLEASE DRIVE RESPONSIBLY

The next time you hit that intersection and see that 'No Right Turn' Signal lit up, remember that someone put it there for a reason, and the person sitting in front of you might be the only one getting it right.