We really need your commentary on the Texas "feeder roads", aka frontage roads. I know you've driven in Texas so please feed us up with some good commentary.
@@mcgreiveyy I imagine back in the 70's it was originally made into law to protect gas pumping jobs. I can't imagine any kid in 2022 dreams of some day pumping people's gas at gas stations. It needs to go. Unless I'm missing that there is some big gas pumping union out there - it still needs to go.
I grew up, learned to drive, and still reside in NJ, so I never considered that our intersections could be confusing, and possibly terrifying to drivers from other states. Drive with care!
Same here. I've had to explain to out of towners what a jughandle is far too many times 😂. I'm just used to it. They're equally confused about circles (roundabouts).
@@graywolf2694 The basic concept of jughandles is easy enough to understand, and Mileage Mike has done a good job of explaining the basic types. But in North Jersey, there are a zillion different jughandle variations, often with business and transit entrances in the "handles." The signage is generally abysmal, and the local drivers are often totally intolerant of anyone not already familiar with their neighborhood.
@@stacyrussell460 I hate roundabouts. We have recently started to get them here in Florida. They are the most confusing and dangerous traffic hazard in existence. It probably won't be long before we get the so-called jughandles.
The "Michigan Left" is the New Jersey jug handle's Midwestern cousin. As a truck driver, the jug handles come in handy with U-turns, especially if I missed my previous turn. On the downside, most aren't designed to properly accommodate 18 wheelers. Either it's too narrow or if it flares out to two lanes, I'm usually forced to take up both lanes. Also the issue of the jug handle being too close to the intersection means when I make my left turn I'm waiting a long time for traffic to clear and then my trailer is blocking traffic because I can't fully complete the turn.
@@Skarmy762Yeah, not sure what OP is on about. NJ infrastructure in general is not designed towards 18-wheelers, and most streets are too narrow and gridded for 18-wheelers, but yet they prosper in an environment not built for them.
I grew up in South Jersey and now live in Michigan, so I'm really familiar with both configurations. On the whole, I prefer jughandles, because the Michigan left generally requires one to sit through three red lights to make a left - one at the intersection, then another at the U-turn location, and yet another back at the intersection. Having said that, Michigan roads generally have ample cuts through the median to allow for U-turns or entrance into businesses on the opposite side of the road, so that's a point in Michigan's favor.
@@Stache987 Again, NJ born and raised, now in MI, so I grew up knowing how to handle traffic circles. When some roundabouts were built in the Detroit 'burbs, I was prepared.
Honestly, growing up in New Jersey I didn’t know this was only a regional thing. The good news is though, that they are only on roads with high traffic so you won’t see jug-handles on everyday roads.
Being a truck driver, I like the jersey jughandles because it makes my turns so much easier with a 53' or if oversize, larger trailer easier. I've always been one to look for all signs on the road since they could apply to me, especially being in a CMV versus a passenger car.
Equally frustrating is that Jersey still has a few lefts on major roads in some places, so for drivers new to Jersey, you might not be able to tell until you're right up on the intersection whether you have to take a jughandle or true left. If you figure wrong, that frequently means crossing several lanes at the last minute to get to the correct lane. Google maps, though has eased some of the pain, because it will direct you to a jug handle if necessary with several blocks notice.
I live in New Jersey and that is still true for me. Even if I frequent a certain road, but usually drive the length of it nonstop, it's easy to ignore whether the road uses a jughandle at a particular intersection, making, for example, stopping for gas, an adventure sometimes. That said, nowadays a GPS is your friend if you don't make unplanned stops
Those lefts on major routes reflect updated standards for NJDOT. All the jughandles are from the 1940s and 1950, and the PA suburbs of Philly e.g. route 309 have them too, but only on the older sections of road. The state never spends the money to proceed down a state road and rip out all the right-hand loops, but NJDOT has been progressively ripping out the circles. Those are recognized accident generators.
> "If you figure wrong, that frequently means crossing several lanes at the last minute to get to the correct lane" And THAT is what is called a Jersey slide.
Having grown up outside Philly and being very familiar with jughandles (PA engineers seemed to pick up on this occasionally), they work very, very well when drivers know and understand them, just as roundabouts work well when they are understood. It is a shame more states did not figure out how to incorporate jughandles into highway design earlier, as now it is probably too late.
In MI, there sometimes still are drivers who won't enter a roundabout if they see a vehicle anywhere on said roundabout. They haven't comprehended yet that the way to do it is to use visual cues to determine an opposing driver isn't going to continue in front of you, and even if he is you can go for it if you can enter the roundabout without impeding his travel.
Being from Jersey, hearing all my friends complain about our jughandles is hillarious. If you've ever driven in New Jersey and tried to make a left hand turn, you know our roads are way too busy to compensate for the stoppages in the left lane and traffic can quickly back up for ridiculous amounts. Jughandles dramatically decrease traffic at lights in the left hand lane and keep the road moving. Annoying? Sure. But in NJ they are way more efficient than simple left hand turns.
Yes and at the intersections where left turns are allowed, most Jersey drivers will pull into an intersection when they have to yield to oncoming traffic so that they can make the turn with less of a break in traffic or when the lights turn red and they are legally allowed to clear the intersection at that point. I guess its because Jersey has so much traffic that very few would be able to turn during one cycle of the light. I live in TX now and i can tell you they do not do that here
Having been born and learned to drive in NJ, I didn't notice that other states did not have these jug handles as much. It was insightful to get an out-of-stater's detailed perspective, thanks.
Some PA routes outside Philly have these, e.g. PA 309 and PA 63 (Welsh Road), 309 and Hartman Rd, 309 and Stump Road (3 lights in succession). There are others.
I drive through Central and North Jersey all the time and have since I began driving in the 1980s and I've grown so accustomed to it it doesn't even phase me. Lol.
I think something to note as well - Jersey is the most densely populated states in America. I’ve grown up here most of my life and into adulthood and I can say that in the intersections that don’t have this, left turns take forever compared to left turns in other states. Sure some states have very dense cities, but NJ traffic (especially north jersey) can make it so you never make that left turn depending on time of day. Hence why I think these are great
I lived in New Jersey for several years (born, raised, and now in California), so this video hits home for me. It took some time to get used to it. Your video on the jughandles is so well articulated in each aspect! Brings back memories of the Garden State!
Great video. Having grown up in NJ and only knowing jug handles, it was a shock to me when I moved to NC to see they had none. People just turned from the left lane for better or for worse. Also, those turn only lanes down the center of local highways confused me at first. I got used to it. Then when I moved back to NJ I had to get used to jug handles again. I think one of the main reasons NJ needs jug handles is the sheer volume of traffic on the roads. During rush hour every left turn lane gets backed up out onto the main road bringing traffic to a crawl as people swerve around the backed up left lane. Overall I think jug handles are essential in NJ. Now if we can just fix our signage. It's awful. If you're not familiar with the roads you're going to take a wrong turn somewhere. NC signs were so much easier to understand, but then again they didn't have a lot of 6 way highway intersections. I guess it comes back to density again. As far as pedestrians go they are an after thought in this state. We also like our traffic circles. They fell out f favor for a while but they seem to be coming back all over the place.
just wanted to say that I love the videos man. I'm studying civil engineering right now in college, and a big part of the reason why is you and other people like you here on youtube! wouldnt have gotten interested in the field if not for videos like these that show the cool aspects of traffic engineering
Many of the problematic jug handles are that way because they were designed for much less traffic. As the decades have gone by, increased development has put many more vehicles through those intersections. Often times, the highway was originally two lanes wide and expanded into 6. That further reduces the distance of the jug handle to the intersection on the minor road. I've found every state to have their own set of design differences that you have to learn. The intersections in PA are signed and signalled differently than those in NJ.
I've never encountered a jug handle, but it seems like the primary issue is lack of right of way. With a left turn, advance green is usually given in all intersections with moderate or heavy traffic, so even if you can't turn between cars you still get a light eventually. The problem the jug handle is trying to solve is fixed with with either a red arrow (no turn without an explicit turn arrow/advance green) or in the case of heavy turning traffic, a diverging diamond. It seems like it's fine for light traffic, but then why even have it in the first place? Left turns in light traffic usually aren't an issue. It just seems to punish turning traffic.
Dude, I am a Texan transplant to NJ, and I also have an affinity towards geography and maps. By the way, just wow. Just wow. Instant follow/subscribe, instant like. I hope you do this content for places all over.
My girlfriend lived in Elmwood Park. Highway 4 between the Passaic River through Teaneck to I-95 before the GW Bridge is lined by a jersey barrier and traffic signals where left turns are prohibited. To access restaurants, gas stations and shopping centers, no left turns or U turns are allowed. To enter the Westfield Garden Mall from Highway 4 in Paramus, those movements are provided by an interchange off-ramp. I had never seen anything like it.
Shoot man, I'm from the midwest, never been to New Jersey, hardly even been to the east coast, but this video, a recent video from Mr. Beat, and youtube channel Alan Fisher have really done a lot to improve my perception of New Jersey. Jersey Shore and all the media coming out of NYC and Philly used to make me think NJ was just kind of a wasteland sandwiched between two big cities haha
I mean right now probably one of the things I'm most jealous of New Jersey for is NJTransit. Like yeah NJ is a physically small state so it's easier to do that there than in a state like, say, Illinois, but still I'd love to have even a halfway decent public transit network across my entire state. I love being able to not drive if I don't have to. All we have is one Amtrak route that goes from one side of the state to the other. And a lot of NJ towns seem a lot more walkable than anything I'm used to. That would be another big pro for me
Yeah New Jersey is one of the rare places I’ve seen where even the suburbs have access to transit. In most parts of the country that’s a political non-starter. It’s doesn’t have any major destination cities but overall I like it. Close to both NYC and Philly.
I grew up in North Jersey but moved to the south for college. When I got here I realize how spoiled I was growing up with walkability and fairly frequent transit. 🤣🤣
Very great summary of one of my state's unique features. It does become secondhand once you're used to it. One of the primary benefits is knowing left lane traffic will be maintaining higher than the "suggested" speed, as we refer to the posted limit. The downside is heavily congested ramps will back up, and drivers will utilize the middle lane to attempt a cut-in for the exit ramp. The same principle holds true for both highway exit ramps and exit ramps for a jughandle. All in all, they do function better than a roundabout (we call them circles down here) and it's one feature the rest of the country might be able to benefit from.
The best one is at 309 and 63, at the old AMC theater. It's huge and has traffic lights at the end of the jughandles, eliminating the traffic backup issues.
I've never heard of these before, but I can see when utilized at the correct intersections with traffic flow taken into account how they could be more efficient. It took me awhile to wrap my head around diverging diamond intersections too, but those are super efficient as well. Roundabouts are also great. Everyone's grumpy when they have to get used to something they're unfamiliar with, but if we used these traffic controls more often, and we all got used to them, overall traffic flow would improve tremendously.
As a Jerseyite I’m used to jug handles, and do believe, for the most part, keep traffic flowing smoothly. As you stated, though, there is the issue of coming off the jug handle and wanting to turn left onto the cross road, and that can be problematic. However, that is usually only on busy roads, particularly during rush hour. (And Rt 1 is definitely a crazy road to be on during rush hour!!) But usually a driver on the cross road will let some cars through. It just takes cooperation. I’ve driven on Rt 19 in Florida, and I was taking my life in my hands whenever trying to get in the left lane so I could turn at the next cross road! I’m just used to staying right. 😝
I'm from Miami and love NJ although don't really know why. I only experienced this left turn fuckery the last time I was there staying in an unfamiliar town near the shore.
I grew up in Canada and moved to NJ in 2014. I've noticed that people from other states often criticize the Jersey jughandles. However, I think that jughandles are one thing that NJ gets right, and I'll be quick to defend them. I think it's great that left turning traffic is not causing a backup in the left lane. Even better, as you mentioned, the conflict points are reduced. There are inconsistencies, though. There will be left turn lanes on roads that also have jughandles, so you really have to be paying attention to the signs. I can see how they'd be confusing. But overall, I really like them.
They have these on certain 'stroads' in NY and, quite frankly, I love them. Jersey actually goes one step further on roads like 4 and 17 where they completely eliminate the crossing entirely, turning it into a freeway. You have to 'exit' the route and the crossing street is bridged over the route. Very expensive, but it seems to work well in Bergen County.
yeah my biggest issue with it on 17 especially is all of the shopping centers and the speed being 50 (where people actually go 70 let’s be real). it’s kind of dangerous though i’ve never seen an accident because we’re so used to it 😂 scary shit sometimes though
I live close to Rt. 1 in Mercer County where the DOT has eliminated some jughandles to install highway-like interchanges, and I'm always amazed by how we're driving pass these shopping malls and gas stations going nearly 75 mph...I always think to myself, "In what other state can you do this?" I mean in reality, this isn't unique to Rt. 1 or 17, but all the "Jersey Roads"...Rts. 18, 22, 35, 36, 10, 38, 130...all of them lol. @@WCmexico98
I am from New Jersey. However I grew up and learned to Drive in Southern California. When I first drove in New Jersey in 2016, I remembered the Jug Handles, but they still took me by surprise.
I've been getting into urban design and city planning casually for the past couple of years (it's almost impressive how poorly our roads are designed when it comes to managing traffic), but hadn't come across this kind of intersection before. As a southern man myself this was very interesting, I really like the concept. I hope to see some of these designs eventually make their way down to Texas. I've already seen a few highway crossings around town get converted to diverging diamonds which has done wonders for traffic in those areas. It takes people a couple of months to get used to the changes, but most people eventually agree that there have been far less collisions and the traffic has been much smoother. Now if only we could get people to understand how to properly use a roundabout we'll really be in business! Definitely earned my sub today my friend, and looking forward to more videos in the future.
I have visited New Jersey as I worked for a company that had its HQ there. Locals explained it to me and it wasn''t hard to catch on. I think it is much safer than the traditional left turn, especially if left turns are allowed on the round green light, without Burbank red left arrows. Still, I believe the traffic circle is best for safety and for moving traffic through the intersection. You just need to get used to it.
9:20 This was actually a huge reason for jughandles in NJ, especially in smaller towns... Keep right, pass left. As you mentioned, you were driving in the left lane for quite some time, expecting to be able to turn left at the next light. The judhandle's basically force us to not do that. Granted, this eventually just turned into the left lane becoming the "fast" lane, but the intent was there. Roads like US-1 weren't designed to be pedestrian friendly "avenues" or "boulevards", so roundabouts would not be practical. Jughandles naturally slow down traffic getting on and off these "almost highways". That said, this was really really well done. As a native New Jersey kid, jughandles are just as natural to us as not pumping our own gas lol
Do they still have pilot cars for snow plows in NJ? When I lived in Paterson, they had cars that led snow plow trucks around, showing them where to plow.
As a Michigander, I find this on one hand, shockingly familiar, yet at the same time, this is the most convoluted left turn system I have ever seen. We have Michigan lefts here which are essentially a series of u-turns to avoid turning left at intersections on boulevards. Turn right, get in the u-turn lane then wait for a break and go.
It's not convoluted in person. You take a right hand exit, loop around to be perpendicular to the road you just got off, then make a left at a light. Done.
If you’re in metro Detroit, there’s actually a few of these jughandles around here too. I know off the top of my head that Telegraph has one at Grand River
It's not too bad in South Jersey, where the jug handles are pretty close together in most areas, and there are some major roads where you can make left turns from the left lane and even an occasional U-turn is permitted. But North Jersey is a different story, as others have commented - you can drive for what seems like miles until you hit a jug handle.
Thank you for the video. I was at a friend’s wedding in 1986 when I encountered the jug handle. I thought I was crazy that I could not cross the road from my hotel to get to a McDonalds a block further down US 9 in South Amboy. I was so determined to make the left turn or U-Turn. I ended up turning around in Rahway. Never did get to the McDonalds and felt extremely fortunate to get back to my hotel.
There's nothing more frustrating as an NJ driver than to come to a screeching halt in the left lane because someone is trying to make an illegal left. When they're out of staters I give them a pass, when they have NJ plates I honk and give them NJ attitude. :)
Thank you so much for this video. You were literally in my old neighborhood. I've been to that Boston Market, taken that jughandle many times. This definitely brought back fond memories. However, as a southerner now, can't say I miss the jughandle that much anymore.
From NC & First time hearing about this infrastructure. Drove a bunch through various PA towns (south & north/-east) PA but never encountered this. Thank goodness
I think NJ jug handle turns are a perfect solution for New Jersey’s crowded roads. It makes the signal timing very simple (through traffic in one phase, all turns on another). My main frustration with these turns is that by the time you can see the thing on the left you want to go to you often can’t get to it if you weren’t ready for the jug handle turn ahead of time and as the video points out, some roads go back and forth between turn lane lefts and jug handles. Still, for pseudo freeways like US-22, the jug handle turn is a must or traffic would be a total grind all along it.
Your description at the beginning was EXACTLY my first experience. I laughed! Once I caught on, I really liked it. My complaint would be that it's often hard to tell which style to expect at an unfamiliar intersection.
Growing up in greater Boston, I remember Massachusetts having a few jughandles but they were far outnumbered by the ubiquitous Massachusetts rotary. That's where a left turn is accomplished by turning right into a rotary, travelling 270 degrees around the rotary circle, and exiting right. Some rotaries that were built in the 1950s or even 1930s are still functioning well to this day.
In NJ, we call them circles. We had our share of them for years, but most have been eliminated. Seems antiquated when I drive thru MA. Not easy if you're trying to read signs your first time thru.
@@joeshmoe7789 They may be antiquated but when traffic entering must yield, they are a wicked smart solution to dangerous intersections and other junctions with moderate levels of traffic. When NJ was eliminating its circles back in the 1970s Massachusetts decided to apply UK roundabout rules to its rotaries: yield upon entering was #1!
I actually really like traffic circles, they work much safer and more efficient than an intersection with a light. You can always get through them way faster no matter which direction you're going, compared to a standard intersection where you have to wait at a light or yield to endless traffic coming at you at 50 mph. It's too bad that here in America, people are always too stupid to figure them out. Whenever I watch USA car crash compilations, seems like 90% of them involve someone being idiotic at a roundabout
My late Aunt used to live in central NJ (small world as your featured Route 514 in this video near where she lived). Picked up on the NJ Left and the NJ U-Turn real quick as I was the kid riding shotgun and was responsible for directions long before GPS and even MapQuest were a thing while mom was responsible for driving.
The first time I encountered these, I ended up going 4 intersections or so and made an illegal U-turn. It’s rare for this Californian to drive in the Northeast, but I have come to appreciate the NJ jug handles, especially when it comes to freeing up the left lane for faster traffic. The last time I drove in NJ, it was with my own car I brought in all the way from California, and I am pretty sure more than a few people were surprised to see a Californian handle a Jersey Jughandle correctly like a native.
9:31 I love the new Jersey left turn lane now! And you are completely right that it looks like the left lane laws can be followed there which increases speed and "decreases" conflict points. I would like to see this on Airline Highway in BR! Here in BR we have, by some sources, the fourth highest level of traffic in the country! One of the ideas I understand they were thinking about was upgrading i-10 because the Mississippi bridge in North Baton Rouge is not used as much as it could be while our main bridge is almost always "congested" (Which is not a big surprise since I-10 literally goes down to ONE LANE coming in from the West. Anyway, I think this would be really, really great!!!!!!!!! I want this!!!!!
I have lived in New Jersey all of my driving life. The jug handle is a significant improvement to other state’s intersections, of which I have driven in 33 from Massachusetts to Nevada.
I learned to drive in New Jersey and then moved south to Virginia a couple of years after college. I still miss the jug handle. A decade or so I drove U.S. end-to-end. Jersey was one of the easiest states to get through. Rhode Island was the worst but mostly because to save money they signed only every second turn so I had to keep backtracking to get back on Rt. 1.
I have experienced some of these jughandles and they've been at intersections where traffic volumes are way too high for a roundabout. That would just get backed up instead in all directions.
@@maxsilverstone8600 Yeah, that's my thought too. Where there's a super high traffic volume, jug-handles are the best option. I've seen some intersections in Europe that kinda combine both with a round-about at the center but with some ramps to the right side to shunt away right-turning traffic from the round-about. So only straight, left, and U-turn traffic enters the circle. I dunno what those are called, but I like them. Too bad they take up so much space as I'm sure right-of-way would be an issue setting those up.
I recently moved to Vermont and there's a lot of jughandle intersections around here. They took some getting used to, but now I love them because on the whole traffic flows much better than what I see near my parents' place down south.
It would be nuts for a left turn against traffic from Routes 1, 9, 18, 35, 38 and 70, for example, in heavily congested areas. The jug-handles do work, but they can cause back-up during rush hour. The other New Jersey traffic spectacle are the notorious traffic circles or rotaries. That’s another topic worthy of a video. Nice work on this video 👍
Yeah, no………it’s called left turn only with green arrow…….this is a giganormic* waste of space, time and money….. Las Vegas figured it out years ago……this…..this is something a challenged child would invent!
We also got to talk about the fact that some of the intersections in New Jersey have outgrown their jug handles. I know that the intersection of Route one and Franklin Corner Road/Bakers basin Road is crazy congested during rush-hour. The queue for just route one through traffic is insane and backs up past the 295 interchange most the time (that’s not even including the type A jughandle). There are also some parts of toms River along route 37 that are insanely congested during rush hour as well (namely the two intersections: Hooper Avenue, and route 166). I feel as though New Jersey should invest in newer traffic standards for some of these intersections that clearly have outgrown the jughandle.
Love the jug handle! Born and raised in NYC, I learned to drive in congested traffic, and thought that was all there was until I crossed the Hudson River and started driving in New Jersey. Route 17 was my favorite way to go to work in upstate New York, while still living in Brooklyn. I live in Kentucky now, and have for the past 39 years. Just found out that Lexington is getting ready to create jug handle intersections along New Circle Road, one of our major arteries, in order to eliminate those same dreaded left and u-turns. Over the past 15 years Lexington has introduced traffic circles (or round-abouts as they're sometimes called) as well as a European-styled crossover on one of our thoroughfares to ease traffic congestion. The crossover works great. Of course, it had traffic lights to control traffic. The traffic circles take a bit of getting used to as many drivers aren't familiar with them and don't know how to negotiate through them. Any way, this was a great video and excellent explanation of the use, advantages and disadvantages of the NJ jug handle intersections.
Ex Jerseyite here - for a few years in the early 1970's NJ had the safest roads in the country due to most major arterial roads having been converted over to the jughandle system. But it was also the same time that many people living outside of NJ moved to the state due to employment transfers. I guess that combination eroded the safety aspect. Also the state has not followed through on continuing the jughandle system on newly revamped roads. On State Road 70 in Lakewood and Brick Township, NJ the jughandle system is initially used at the western end of Lakewood. Then the road suddenly starts using left turn lanes instead of jughandles. And just as suddenly it goes back to all jughandles at the eastern end. Not a good combination for residents or visitors.
Heading up to new jersey for a traveler job, going from Richmond VA to South Jersey for my next job. This is a life saver, I would have been so confused if not for this.
Yeah, those things are weird. First time I drove through Jersey I had made about 4 illegal left turns before I figured out why everyone was honking their horns and yelling at me. After I did figure out how to use them correctly, it still never felt right to me. The ones I saw were too close to the intersection so there was never any room to get onto the road you needed to turn left on so it just looked and felt wrong to me. Roundabouts on the other hand, I do like a lot more than the both the jughandle and the traditional intersection.
Thanks for the video. My wife has never heard of or driven through jug-handles and I was having a hard time explaining it. Great job on this video… thanks again.
This seems like it effectively shifts the hassle and time loss onto the people turning at each intersection, instead of everyone going straight...and since you'd be going through many more intersections straight than turning, that should reduce overall travel time and improve the efficiency of the roadway. The worst downside to me was that pedestrian conflict point when entering the ramp. Cars are moving so fast at that point and haven't thought about pedestrians for miles, crossing those ramps is like playing Frogger.
Yeah, I don't see how anyone could say this design is safer for pedestrians and cyclists at all. It's basically a high-speed slip lane and those are notoriously dangerous to cross
I don’t know how long they been around but I remember I found myself experiencing this in NJ back in 2000, it took my several miles of traveling down the road to realize how to do a u-turn, I’m also from the central Florida and travel to NJ for work for a short period.
Thanks for the video I’ll be in New Jersey experiencing the jug handle for the first time. This video makes me feel more confident and comfortable with it.
In the left lane trying to go to a restaurant in Cherry Hill. OMG My experience exactly! Great job covering the issue thoroughly. I remember telling some kin folk about an intersection in Toms River in which you had to pass through the intersection 3 times to make a turn and they didn't believe it. The biggest disadvantage is even after you get used to it, if you go into a section of NJ you're not familiar with, you're never sure which lane you should be in, and in some places you don't know until you get to the intersection what the rules are.
Yeah but when a Jersey driver has to cross multiple lanes at once to go from the jug handle to the left turn that’s just a Jersey slide so we’re used to crossing multiple lanes in one go.
The other NJ roadway expression is. You can SEE the building that you want to go to, BUT you can not get there from HERE. Yes, must drive out of your way and return to where you were.
If a "jug handle" for left turns is done correctly, I'm all for it. What I dislike most about New Jersey is their toll bridges. They (the state) lets you cross into the state free, but makes you pay a toll at nearly EVERY bridge (some are still toll-free) to leave the state.
@@dave6695 While do somewhat agree, its mainly due to it being private organisation controlling and operating and maintaining there's bridges tunnels or road connections. mainly due to states lack of funding atb the time to build such massive projects especially since the north eastern part of the USA was so heavily invested in road infrastructure that the state couldn't keep up or support it so they went and private a lot of It Leading to many toll roads and passage ways, even if they bought it up there's still legal requrimenst that stuff like this can never be founded via state funds due to at the time state not able to afford it etc.
@@MetroHam: If I ever get to New Jersey, I know there are several free (aka: non-tolled) bridges that I WILL use regardless of the miles and time added to my trip. I avoid all tolled bridges, tunnels and roads if possible.
@@MetroHam Private? It is a corporation owned by the bordering states and run by people appointed by elected officials in both states. for NY-NJ bridges that is the Port Authority of New York New Jersey.
Great video! I just moved to New Jersey fairly recently (back in September), and this was something that definitely confused me when I first got here. I still didn't entirely understand it before clicking on your video, but after watching I totally get it now. Thanks for sharing!
I'm in NJ, and have been here all my life. I've been driving for over 40 years, so I'm used to jughandles, and never give them a second thought. On rural US 30 in Mullica Township, between Egg Harbor City and the Elwood light, Route 30 is a divided highway with a grass median. Going westbound there are small jughandles for all turns at the side roads. Going eastbound there are left turn lanes in the median. To make a U turn from that lane, the signs direct you just past the side road, and you make a left turn into the westbound jughandle, through an opening in the jughandle median. It's always been this way, for as long as I've lived in the area. But just in the last few years, many eastbound drivers have been making full U turns from those left turn lanes without crossing into the westbound jughandles. With no police around, they are getting away with it. It can be dangerous with other cars around, but they don't care. I have never driven on any of the roads that go from Philly, diagonally up to New York, and have also never driven in the northeastern area of this state. But in the areas where I have driven, I think the jughandles are a good thing.
Jason Didner’s “You Can’t Get There From Here in Jersey” is a great song that lampoons this infrastructure approach. It was written quite a while ago, but still rings true for visitors.
@@justin423 I've found it to be a great way to pass up traffic. Stop or drive in the right lane that's for the reverse jug-handle, then change lanes to go straight. I got tired of watching cars do this, so I joined them. The spaced, painted lines allow this.
I was in New Jersey back in October and encountered this. It was so weird. Hadn’t seen anything like it back home in Illinois. Glad to hear an explanation
Out-of-state drivers: Do yourself and us a favor and, when you come to New Jersey, leave your car home. Use Uber. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind an inexperienced "furrin" driver. Oh ... and this stuff about pumping your own gas ... Why would you want to get that smelly, dangerous, flammable, explosive liquid all over your hands and the smell in your car? Leave pumping gas to the professionals.
Not to mention who wants to get out and pump when it’s 28F outside and snowing or 98 and raining? I’ll stay in my car here in Jersey and not have ads blare at me on the pump like NY
I was working in NJ in the early 90s when they started enforcing the thou shall not self serve. I have seen the same arguments about getting fuel on your hands in the local papers - in my years of driving, I have never gotten fuel on my hands that way. I figure that is/was silly propaganda. Of course, if you have problems with that, most gas stations have call buttons for assistance - some handicapped drivers do have legitimate needs. It just seems rather silly to make everyone wait for an attendant.
In Eatontown by the Monmouth Mall, there’s a jughandle that connects to an access road specifically for a White Castle, making it possibly the most NJ Jughandle out there
I lived in new jersey all my life where jughandles were a way of life! But then that all changed when in 2006 i moved down south to Alabama where i learn you can only make a left turn in what they call a yellow safety lane a lane just for you and i found that pretty cool!
I spent some years living in NJ, and have returned occasionally since then. One of the biggest and busiest jug handles has since been replaced by a multi-level interchange at US 1 and Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro. It was a 3-way intersection with a reverse jug handle on only one side, and part of the problem was driver behavior. The jug handle could accommodate about 20 cars, but sometimes there were even more backed up on the main road. If they were impatient, they could end up blocking the intersection when there was a green light for the cars on the jug handle to go through onto Scudders Mill, i.e. they were blocking the path of the car about 20 cars ahead of themselves.
I now live in Michigan, and the diagram of the "Superstreet" looks a lot like a "Michigan left". Are they the same thing? I have done very little driving in the south.
I grew up in NJ. I cannot tell you how important it is to remember, on each road, which intersection is jughandle and which is not! And, as for using the jughandle to avoid traffic? Yeah, I'm that guy.
They work well, but they chew more real estate, and I think that is why they didn't catch on in other places. I had never been to NJ as a trucker until 1999. They gave me directions to a place in Jersey City and told me to turn right at the Jughandle past some intersection and it sounded like gibberish to me. It wasn't until I got on US 1 and saw the sign did it really make sense
Route 36 from garden state parkway exit 105 to long branch is the only major road in New Jersey I can think of that has multiple left turns, even then most of them that get replaced get turned into partial cloverleafs, such as the rebuilding of the route 35 intersection.
I'm so used to this living in NJ I never even really thought about it. NJ is really tight and populated so they make a lot of sense for the state, especially living near NYC with all that grandfathered-in city planning.
When running shipping containers from Virginia to upstate New York, I started using NJ-17 between I-80 in Hackensack and I-287 in Mahwah because driving the length of 287 seemed to take too long as is generally a boring drive. I found early on that travelling on 17 is fast despite the almost endless shopping centers because of the jug handles.
This was common in Frankfurt Germany. And the timing of the lights. Like street cars each direction traffic went on each side of the boulevard or highway with trains of cars that were allowed to travel without side traffic interference. Cross traffic traffic lights only came on when a train of traffic on either side had all cleared. A clockwork online that I had been familiar, in 1981 and 82. Once I became comfortable with how convenient and time saving turning right to turn left was, I remember preferring it as it allowed much more traffic to get through the intersections with the wait time of two left turns are removed out of the equation. I really liked it. Three traffic circles connecting three autobahns. I got accustomed to driving through them but I can't explain them. You pick the lane you want to exit at before you go into the circles. As you make your way through the course of the circle you end up exiting where you wanted to be without any effort except picking the correct Lane when you entered. My favorite intersection was the third one described. That was the only type I saw while I was in Germany. New to our highways in Anchorage Alaska the boulevards swap sides requiring a light in only two directions with merging right turns whether you're going left or right while crossing over the freeway at the last or first depending on your view access to the highway bound for the bound from to the valley. During the evening escape, all lanes are filled from the controlled traffic leaving downtown which is where the right turn is from the other highway. There's no waiting an extra merging Lanes extend for a mile as traffic compresses and accelerates towards the s curves and 50 mile drive to the valley. When all three lanes are going 90 miles an hour in the 65 is on nobody slows down unless of course there's that courtesy officer that some can't wait to greet with clear roads ahead escorting all safely at 70 mph followed by long trains of traffic. Way back there is the caboose fighting its way to the front. So I don't drive those times I drive off peak when I can go 50 miles an hour saving gasoline as I've got plenty of time compared to money and I'm glad I don't make that commute. Terrifying on the s curve during the winter when it's dark. Driving opposite of rush hour traffic with all headlights in your eyes is like being on a ferris wheel with everything spinning past you at high speed and I'm thankful I don't have to endure that on a daily basis or ever again. That's my report from up here in Alaska. I like your video and I'll explore More. Strange kind of guy is I. Clueless about football, an encyclopedia acknowledge just like when I read the books in the library when I was a kid and I read everything I liked and mostly skipped the parts that didn't strike my fancy. Like a Granger catalog. I think every kid should get one just for the tables and charts filled with mathematical opportunities to challenge their minds. There's nothing else that algorithm found me something that wasn't news and that I could understand and enjoy. I didn't hear you tell a single lie and that's refreshing to the ears and no controversy except the foreigners. I'm 63 and recommended this video for 7th graders or younger. How can you make your phone help you design and engineer your own cities with intersections and traffic lights in the lake? I drew those kind of on paper when I was a boy. And Drew houses requiring neighborhoods and traffic lights. I even brought one that worked to the driving range in high school, finding an old signal in the Platte River, I got a 8-track tape recorder and some metallic tape creating a timing for the relays that would like the correct light. I got an A.
I live in the very area covered by this video and I agree with one thing in particular; Jug handles that connect the the crossing street too close to the intersection are pretty much useless in anything but the lightest traffic. I usually will avoid those and go to the next intersection that has a bit more room.
I moved to NJ in 1997 from Maryland and was not aware of this phenomenon. It took some adjustment but I eventually got used to it. Moved back to Maryland in 1999 so haven’t had to deal with it since.
I'm from Florida and reside in NJ currently. At the time I thought jughandles were an unnecessary extra step to making a left/u-turn but in reality, it makes driving the nation's most densely populated state seamless. There are a few that are rough, one of mine being turning left from US-1 to get on Bakers Basin Rd in Lawerenceville. It's almost impossible to turn in especially during rush hour. In the right places they work great but in others, it does get rather tough unless you're aggressive enough.
Thanks for the heads up. I'm reminded of missing turns in GA traveling with my gf and getting mad. I couldn't imagine encountering these without context or warning and just screaming at my GPS and myself. I was in a car that was slow to recalculate. So slow, that by the time I got to the next intersection or ramp to turn, it would give me no notice and I would miss that turn too. What fun. Thanks for the nightmare fuel, and for the heads up in case I ever have to visit new Jersey.
They have a couple of these on PA-145 in Allentown, near the LV Mall, and honestly I really enjoy them. It takes the stress out of trying to turn left or U-turn on the road when its busy in the evenings.
I live about 40 miles north of Chicago and on our Highway 41 there is one off ramp just like this I've never even thought about it but I've always known it was so not the hold up the traffic in the left lane. Good video😁
As a New Jersean for life, we love these things. We live to drive in the left lane even if we arent that fast, so keep left turn traffic out of there. We are also programmed to get right to go left, which is fun when I am on a road like this in another state.
As a southern transplant to NJ, I am a jughandle convert. Yes, Independent Blvd could use a jughandles. It’s so much easier to drive without the left lane back up.
South of the Raritan River, where population is not as dense, most intersections are the traditional left lane for a left turn. I grew up on the Raritan and never even realized how complex and confusing a jug handle is. New Jersey signs are actually very good about explaining what to do. It was a little confusing even for native NJ people before GPS. Now, just do what the GPS tells you.
We do this in Rhode Island too. Of course, people think Rhode Island is part of New York and so it would be next to New Jersey and not surprising we would do this.
Grew up with lots of time spent on US-1 north of Boston (Saugus area) same thing, no left turns, so when visiting NJ along US-1 Edison to PA the jug handles were no surprise.
![Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]](/img/n.gif)
Thanks for watching. See more commentary videos here:
th-cam.com/play/PLnS3Ajs4YX_y7SG4bKBuqHcBmfOaOoIn4.html
Maybe do a video on NJ TRAFFIC CIRCLES!
@@barbarawhitworth9472 do any still exist? In my neck of the woods I think they've all been eliminated.
@@iamme453 Ocean County.
Lol
We really need your commentary on the Texas "feeder roads", aka frontage roads. I know you've driven in Texas so please feed us up with some good commentary.
Coming from a state that doesn't allow people to pump their own gas is it really surprising.
A fair point 😂
Lol
Well, I prefer to think of it as a state that doesn't make people pump their own gas.
@@mcgreiveyy I imagine back in the 70's it was originally made into law to protect gas pumping jobs. I can't imagine any kid in 2022 dreams of some day pumping people's gas at gas stations. It needs to go. Unless I'm missing that there is some big gas pumping union out there - it still needs to go.
@@joewenzel5142 it’s actually a much older law than that. The original law was passed in 1949.
I grew up, learned to drive, and still reside in NJ, so I never considered that our intersections could be confusing, and possibly terrifying to drivers from other states. Drive with care!
Same here. I've had to explain to out of towners what a jughandle is far too many times 😂. I'm just used to it. They're equally confused about circles (roundabouts).
I too live in NJ, I hate driving in NJ, it's anxiety inducing.
@@graywolf2694 The basic concept of jughandles is easy enough to understand, and Mileage Mike has done a good job of explaining the basic types. But in North Jersey, there are a zillion different jughandle variations, often with business and transit entrances in the "handles." The signage is generally abysmal, and the local drivers are often totally intolerant of anyone not already familiar with their neighborhood.
I am in south Florida and it’s even crazier I would not say people here are aggressive drivers like Nj but more careless and reckless.
@@stacyrussell460 I hate roundabouts. We have recently started to get them here in Florida. They are the most confusing and dangerous traffic hazard in existence. It probably won't be long before we get the so-called jughandles.
The "Michigan Left" is the New Jersey jug handle's Midwestern cousin. As a truck driver, the jug handles come in handy with U-turns, especially if I missed my previous turn. On the downside, most aren't designed to properly accommodate 18 wheelers. Either it's too narrow or if it flares out to two lanes, I'm usually forced to take up both lanes. Also the issue of the jug handle being too close to the intersection means when I make my left turn I'm waiting a long time for traffic to clear and then my trailer is blocking traffic because I can't fully complete the turn.
Traffic circles [roundabouts/rotaries] are just as bad.. everyone else crowds your turn out.
NJ roads in the northern part of the state are 100% not designed for trucks
@@Skarmy762Yeah, not sure what OP is on about. NJ infrastructure in general is not designed towards 18-wheelers, and most streets are too narrow and gridded for 18-wheelers, but yet they prosper in an environment not built for them.
I grew up in South Jersey and now live in Michigan, so I'm really familiar with both configurations. On the whole, I prefer jughandles, because the Michigan left generally requires one to sit through three red lights to make a left - one at the intersection, then another at the U-turn location, and yet another back at the intersection. Having said that, Michigan roads generally have ample cuts through the median to allow for U-turns or entrance into businesses on the opposite side of the road, so that's a point in Michigan's favor.
@@Stache987 Again, NJ born and raised, now in MI, so I grew up knowing how to handle traffic circles. When some roundabouts were built in the Detroit 'burbs, I was prepared.
Honestly, growing up in New Jersey I didn’t know this was only a regional thing. The good news is though, that they are only on roads with high traffic so you won’t see jug-handles on everyday roads.
Being a truck driver, I like the jersey jughandles because it makes my turns so much easier with a 53' or if oversize, larger trailer easier.
I've always been one to look for all signs on the road since they could apply to me, especially being in a CMV versus a passenger car.
Equally frustrating is that Jersey still has a few lefts on major roads in some places, so for drivers new to Jersey, you might not be able to tell until you're right up on the intersection whether you have to take a jughandle or true left. If you figure wrong, that frequently means crossing several lanes at the last minute to get to the correct lane. Google maps, though has eased some of the pain, because it will direct you to a jug handle if necessary with several blocks notice.
I live in New Jersey and that is still true for me. Even if I frequent a certain road, but usually drive the length of it nonstop, it's easy to ignore whether the road uses a jughandle at a particular intersection, making, for example, stopping for gas, an adventure sometimes. That said, nowadays a GPS is your friend if you don't make unplanned stops
Yeah, it's real fun being from out of state in a moving truck.
Especially after dark 😁
Those lefts on major routes reflect updated standards for NJDOT. All the jughandles are from the 1940s and 1950, and the PA suburbs of Philly e.g. route 309 have them too, but only on the older sections of road. The state never spends the money to proceed down a state road and rip out all the right-hand loops, but NJDOT has been progressively ripping out the circles. Those are recognized accident generators.
> "If you figure wrong, that frequently means crossing several lanes at the last minute to get to the correct lane"
And THAT is what is called a Jersey slide.
There's always a sign 😂
Having grown up outside Philly and being very familiar with jughandles (PA engineers seemed to pick up on this occasionally), they work very, very well when drivers know and understand them, just as roundabouts work well when they are understood. It is a shame more states did not figure out how to incorporate jughandles into highway design earlier, as now it is probably too late.
In MI, there sometimes still are drivers who won't enter a roundabout if they see a vehicle anywhere on said roundabout. They haven't comprehended yet that the way to do it is to use visual cues to determine an opposing driver isn't going to continue in front of you, and even if he is you can go for it if you can enter the roundabout without impeding his travel.
I’m from central PA and we have a number of these as well
I was just about to say that PA has a bunch of those turn lanes too. Route 100 north of Exton and 202 south of West Chester have sone.
Yessir, I grew up in Whitehall, borders Allentown on the north, and that's all we had on the main streets. No issues and works great
There’s a few of them on Route 22 East of Pittsburgh. Honestly they’re great, I like them a lot
Being from Jersey, hearing all my friends complain about our jughandles is hillarious. If you've ever driven in New Jersey and tried to make a left hand turn, you know our roads are way too busy to compensate for the stoppages in the left lane and traffic can quickly back up for ridiculous amounts. Jughandles dramatically decrease traffic at lights in the left hand lane and keep the road moving. Annoying? Sure. But in NJ they are way more efficient than simple left hand turns.
This is exactly what I was thinking! We got traffic up here can’t be cutting left or doing u turns through all this traffic we always have fr
And roundabouts would be more efficient than both, but America refuses to accept that.
Yes and at the intersections where left turns are allowed, most Jersey drivers will pull into an intersection when they have to yield to oncoming traffic so that they can make the turn with less of a break in traffic or when the lights turn red and they are legally allowed to clear the intersection at that point. I guess its because Jersey has so much traffic that very few would be able to turn during one cycle of the light. I live in TX now and i can tell you they do not do that here
Having been born and learned to drive in NJ, I didn't notice that other states did not have these jug handles as much. It was insightful to get an out-of-stater's detailed perspective, thanks.
Some PA routes outside Philly have these, e.g. PA 309 and PA 63 (Welsh Road), 309 and Hartman Rd, 309 and Stump Road (3 lights in succession). There are others.
I drive through Central and North Jersey all the time and have since I began driving in the 1980s and I've grown so accustomed to it it doesn't even phase me. Lol.
I think something to note as well - Jersey is the most densely populated states in America. I’ve grown up here most of my life and into adulthood and I can say that in the intersections that don’t have this, left turns take forever compared to left turns in other states. Sure some states have very dense cities, but NJ traffic (especially north jersey) can make it so you never make that left turn depending on time of day. Hence why I think these are great
I lived in New Jersey for several years (born, raised, and now in California), so this video hits home for me. It took some time to get used to it. Your video on the jughandles is so well articulated in each aspect! Brings back memories of the Garden State!
We have a few of those here in central PA. It's like our traffic circles - makes perfect sense once you get used to it
Great video. Having grown up in NJ and only knowing jug handles, it was a shock to me when I moved to NC to see they had none. People just turned from the left lane for better or for worse. Also, those turn only lanes down the center of local highways confused me at first. I got used to it. Then when I moved back to NJ I had to get used to jug handles again. I think one of the main reasons NJ needs jug handles is the sheer volume of traffic on the roads. During rush hour every left turn lane gets backed up out onto the main road bringing traffic to a crawl as people swerve around the backed up left lane. Overall I think jug handles are essential in NJ. Now if we can just fix our signage. It's awful. If you're not familiar with the roads you're going to take a wrong turn somewhere. NC signs were so much easier to understand, but then again they didn't have a lot of 6 way highway intersections. I guess it comes back to density again. As far as pedestrians go they are an after thought in this state. We also like our traffic circles. They fell out f favor for a while but they seem to be coming back all over the place.
just wanted to say that I love the videos man. I'm studying civil engineering right now in college, and a big part of the reason why is you and other people like you here on youtube! wouldnt have gotten interested in the field if not for videos like these that show the cool aspects of traffic engineering
No problem. Glad to hear it. It’s always good to see more people taking interest in these things and getting into the field.
Many of the problematic jug handles are that way because they were designed for much less traffic. As the decades have gone by, increased development has put many more vehicles through those intersections. Often times, the highway was originally two lanes wide and expanded into 6. That further reduces the distance of the jug handle to the intersection on the minor road.
I've found every state to have their own set of design differences that you have to learn. The intersections in PA are signed and signalled differently than those in NJ.
I've never encountered a jug handle, but it seems like the primary issue is lack of right of way. With a left turn, advance green is usually given in all intersections with moderate or heavy traffic, so even if you can't turn between cars you still get a light eventually. The problem the jug handle is trying to solve is fixed with with either a red arrow (no turn without an explicit turn arrow/advance green) or in the case of heavy turning traffic, a diverging diamond. It seems like it's fine for light traffic, but then why even have it in the first place? Left turns in light traffic usually aren't an issue. It just seems to punish turning traffic.
@@quinton1661 You have shorter cycle times for traffic lights. Delayed greens and arrows add to the waiting for all traffic.
Dude, I am a Texan transplant to NJ, and I also have an affinity towards geography and maps. By the way, just wow. Just wow. Instant follow/subscribe, instant like. I hope you do this content for places all over.
Absolutely. Got a lot more planned.
Born and raised in Texas, but have spent almost a year in New Jersey.
My girlfriend lived in Elmwood Park. Highway 4 between the Passaic River through Teaneck to I-95 before the GW Bridge is lined by a jersey barrier and traffic signals where left turns are prohibited. To access restaurants, gas stations and shopping centers, no left turns or U turns are allowed. To enter the Westfield Garden Mall from Highway 4 in Paramus, those movements are provided by an interchange off-ramp. I had never seen anything like it.
It’s pretty crazy. They do some creative things with ramps and barriers in Jersey that I haven’t really seen in other states.
Shoot man, I'm from the midwest, never been to New Jersey, hardly even been to the east coast, but this video, a recent video from Mr. Beat, and youtube channel Alan Fisher have really done a lot to improve my perception of New Jersey. Jersey Shore and all the media coming out of NYC and Philly used to make me think NJ was just kind of a wasteland sandwiched between two big cities haha
I hated that show!! Hated it!!
I mean right now probably one of the things I'm most jealous of New Jersey for is NJTransit. Like yeah NJ is a physically small state so it's easier to do that there than in a state like, say, Illinois, but still I'd love to have even a halfway decent public transit network across my entire state. I love being able to not drive if I don't have to. All we have is one Amtrak route that goes from one side of the state to the other. And a lot of NJ towns seem a lot more walkable than anything I'm used to. That would be another big pro for me
Yeah New Jersey is one of the rare places I’ve seen where even the suburbs have access to transit. In most parts of the country that’s a political non-starter. It’s doesn’t have any major destination cities but overall I like it. Close to both NYC and Philly.
I grew up in North Jersey but moved to the south for college. When I got here I realize how spoiled I was growing up with walkability and fairly frequent transit. 🤣🤣
Very great summary of one of my state's unique features. It does become secondhand once you're used to it. One of the primary benefits is knowing left lane traffic will be maintaining higher than the "suggested" speed, as we refer to the posted limit. The downside is heavily congested ramps will back up, and drivers will utilize the middle lane to attempt a cut-in for the exit ramp. The same principle holds true for both highway exit ramps and exit ramps for a jughandle. All in all, they do function better than a roundabout (we call them circles down here) and it's one feature the rest of the country might be able to benefit from.
Route 309 in Pennsylvania in Montgomery County has a few Jughandles if you feel like driving the full portion of route 309 in Pennsylvania.
The best one is at 309 and 63, at the old AMC theater. It's huge and has traffic lights at the end of the jughandles, eliminating the traffic backup issues.
I have seen the Route 63 exit back up into 309 a couple of times now.
I've never heard of these before, but I can see when utilized at the correct intersections with traffic flow taken into account how they could be more efficient. It took me awhile to wrap my head around diverging diamond intersections too, but those are super efficient as well. Roundabouts are also great. Everyone's grumpy when they have to get used to something they're unfamiliar with, but if we used these traffic controls more often, and we all got used to them, overall traffic flow would improve tremendously.
As a Jerseyite I’m used to jug handles, and do believe, for the most part, keep traffic flowing smoothly. As you stated, though, there is the issue of coming off the jug handle and wanting to turn left onto the cross road, and that can be problematic. However, that is usually only on busy roads, particularly during rush hour. (And Rt 1 is definitely a crazy road to be on during rush hour!!) But usually a driver on the cross road will let some cars through. It just takes cooperation.
I’ve driven on Rt 19 in Florida, and I was taking my life in my hands whenever trying to get in the left lane so I could turn at the next cross road! I’m just used to staying right. 😝
I'm from Miami and love NJ although don't really know why. I only experienced this left turn fuckery the last time I was there staying in an unfamiliar town near the shore.
Thanks for this. I'm from NC, but been to NJ many times. Never fully understood the jughandle until now.
I've lived in NJ my whole life and still understand jug-handles.
I grew up in Canada and moved to NJ in 2014.
I've noticed that people from other states often criticize the Jersey jughandles. However, I think that jughandles are one thing that NJ gets right, and I'll be quick to defend them. I think it's great that left turning traffic is not causing a backup in the left lane. Even better, as you mentioned, the conflict points are reduced.
There are inconsistencies, though. There will be left turn lanes on roads that also have jughandles, so you really have to be paying attention to the signs. I can see how they'd be confusing.
But overall, I really like them.
They have these on certain 'stroads' in NY and, quite frankly, I love them. Jersey actually goes one step further on roads like 4 and 17 where they completely eliminate the crossing entirely, turning it into a freeway. You have to 'exit' the route and the crossing street is bridged over the route. Very expensive, but it seems to work well in Bergen County.
yeah my biggest issue with it on 17 especially is all of the shopping centers and the speed being 50 (where people actually go 70 let’s be real). it’s kind of dangerous though i’ve never seen an accident because we’re so used to it 😂 scary shit sometimes though
I live close to Rt. 1 in Mercer County where the DOT has eliminated some jughandles to install highway-like interchanges, and I'm always amazed by how we're driving pass these shopping malls and gas stations going nearly 75 mph...I always think to myself, "In what other state can you do this?" I mean in reality, this isn't unique to Rt. 1 or 17, but all the "Jersey Roads"...Rts. 18, 22, 35, 36, 10, 38, 130...all of them lol. @@WCmexico98
I am from New Jersey. However I grew up and learned to Drive in Southern California. When I first drove in New Jersey in 2016, I remembered the Jug Handles, but they still took me by surprise.
I've been getting into urban design and city planning casually for the past couple of years (it's almost impressive how poorly our roads are designed when it comes to managing traffic), but hadn't come across this kind of intersection before. As a southern man myself this was very interesting, I really like the concept. I hope to see some of these designs eventually make their way down to Texas. I've already seen a few highway crossings around town get converted to diverging diamonds which has done wonders for traffic in those areas. It takes people a couple of months to get used to the changes, but most people eventually agree that there have been far less collisions and the traffic has been much smoother. Now if only we could get people to understand how to properly use a roundabout we'll really be in business! Definitely earned my sub today my friend, and looking forward to more videos in the future.
I have visited New Jersey as I worked for a company that had its HQ there. Locals explained it to me and it wasn''t hard to catch on. I think it is much safer than the traditional left turn, especially if left turns are allowed on the round green light, without Burbank red left arrows. Still, I believe the traffic circle is best for safety and for moving traffic through the intersection. You just need to get used to it.
9:20 This was actually a huge reason for jughandles in NJ, especially in smaller towns... Keep right, pass left. As you mentioned, you were driving in the left lane for quite some time, expecting to be able to turn left at the next light. The judhandle's basically force us to not do that. Granted, this eventually just turned into the left lane becoming the "fast" lane, but the intent was there.
Roads like US-1 weren't designed to be pedestrian friendly "avenues" or "boulevards", so roundabouts would not be practical. Jughandles naturally slow down traffic getting on and off these "almost highways".
That said, this was really really well done. As a native New Jersey kid, jughandles are just as natural to us as not pumping our own gas lol
Do they still have pilot cars for snow plows in NJ? When I lived in Paterson, they had cars that led snow plow trucks around, showing them where to plow.
As a Michigander, I find this on one hand, shockingly familiar, yet at the same time, this is the most convoluted left turn system I have ever seen. We have Michigan lefts here which are essentially a series of u-turns to avoid turning left at intersections on boulevards. Turn right, get in the u-turn lane then wait for a break and go.
It's not convoluted in person. You take a right hand exit, loop around to be perpendicular to the road you just got off, then make a left at a light. Done.
@@robw1571 yeah that seems more convoluted than just turn left
If you’re in metro Detroit, there’s actually a few of these jughandles around here too. I know off the top of my head that Telegraph has one at Grand River
That sounds far more "convoluted"!
It's not too bad in South Jersey, where the jug handles are pretty close together in most areas, and there are some major roads where you can make left turns from the left lane and even an occasional U-turn is permitted. But North Jersey is a different story, as others have commented - you can drive for what seems like miles until you hit a jug handle.
Thank you for the video. I was at a friend’s wedding in 1986 when I encountered the jug handle. I thought I was crazy that I could not cross the road from my hotel to get to a McDonalds a block further down US 9 in South Amboy. I was so determined to make the left turn or U-Turn. I ended up turning around in Rahway. Never did get to the McDonalds and felt extremely fortunate to get back to my hotel.
There's nothing more frustrating as an NJ driver than to come to a screeching halt in the left lane because someone is trying to make an illegal left. When they're out of staters I give them a pass, when they have NJ plates I honk and give them NJ attitude. :)
@@robw1571
I beg to differ. Left lane Dicks are at the top of the list of frustration.
This man has not visited every county in nj ....I live in south NJ and there are many intersections with left turn lanes
Thank you so much for this video. You were literally in my old neighborhood. I've been to that Boston Market, taken that jughandle many times. This definitely brought back fond memories. However, as a southerner now, can't say I miss the jughandle that much anymore.
On Route 1 in NJ you'll see little pedestrian traffic. I love the u-turns(that we call them). Makes left turns so much easier.
From NC & First time hearing about this infrastructure. Drove a bunch through various PA towns (south & north/-east) PA but never encountered this. Thank goodness
I think NJ jug handle turns are a perfect solution for New Jersey’s crowded roads. It makes the signal timing very simple (through traffic in one phase, all turns on another). My main frustration with these turns is that by the time you can see the thing on the left you want to go to you often can’t get to it if you weren’t ready for the jug handle turn ahead of time and as the video points out, some roads go back and forth between turn lane lefts and jug handles. Still, for pseudo freeways like US-22, the jug handle turn is a must or traffic would be a total grind all along it.
Your description at the beginning was EXACTLY my first experience. I laughed!
Once I caught on, I really liked it. My complaint would be that it's often hard to tell which style to expect at an unfamiliar intersection.
Growing up in greater Boston, I remember Massachusetts having a few jughandles but they were far outnumbered by the ubiquitous Massachusetts rotary. That's where a left turn is accomplished by turning right into a rotary, travelling 270 degrees around the rotary circle, and exiting right. Some rotaries that were built in the 1950s or even 1930s are still functioning well to this day.
In NJ, we call them circles. We had our share of them for years, but most have been eliminated. Seems antiquated when I drive thru MA. Not easy if you're trying to read signs your first time thru.
@@joeshmoe7789 They may be antiquated but when traffic entering must yield, they are a wicked smart solution to dangerous intersections and other junctions with moderate levels of traffic. When NJ was eliminating its circles back in the 1970s Massachusetts decided to apply UK roundabout rules to its rotaries: yield upon entering was #1!
I actually really like traffic circles, they work much safer and more efficient than an intersection with a light. You can always get through them way faster no matter which direction you're going, compared to a standard intersection where you have to wait at a light or yield to endless traffic coming at you at 50 mph. It's too bad that here in America, people are always too stupid to figure them out. Whenever I watch USA car crash compilations, seems like 90% of them involve someone being idiotic at a roundabout
@@sunshinelolipops1 That's why they're more dangerous. Less accidents at left turns.
Fancy finding you here!
My late Aunt used to live in central NJ (small world as your featured Route 514 in this video near where she lived). Picked up on the NJ Left and the NJ U-Turn real quick as I was the kid riding shotgun and was responsible for directions long before GPS and even MapQuest were a thing while mom was responsible for driving.
The first time I encountered these, I ended up going 4 intersections or so and made an illegal U-turn.
It’s rare for this Californian to drive in the Northeast, but I have come to appreciate the NJ jug handles, especially when it comes to freeing up the left lane for faster traffic. The last time I drove in NJ, it was with my own car I brought in all the way from California, and I am pretty sure more than a few people were surprised to see a Californian handle a Jersey Jughandle correctly like a native.
Haha that’s similar to my experience as well.
9:31 I love the new Jersey left turn lane now!
And you are completely right that it looks like the left lane laws can be followed there which increases speed and "decreases" conflict points.
I would like to see this on Airline Highway in BR! Here in BR we have, by some sources, the fourth highest level of traffic in the country!
One of the ideas I understand they were thinking about was upgrading i-10 because the Mississippi bridge in North Baton Rouge is not used as much as it could be while our main bridge is almost always "congested" (Which is not a big surprise since I-10 literally goes down to ONE LANE coming in from the West. Anyway, I think this would be really, really great!!!!!!!!! I want this!!!!!
I have lived in New Jersey all of my driving life. The jug handle is a significant improvement to other state’s intersections, of which I have driven in 33 from Massachusetts to Nevada.
I learned to drive in New Jersey and then moved south to Virginia a couple of years after college. I still miss the jug handle. A decade or so I drove U.S. end-to-end. Jersey was one of the easiest states to get through. Rhode Island was the worst but mostly because to save money they signed only every second turn so I had to keep backtracking to get back on Rt. 1.
I find in most cases, u-turns are the easiest in a round-about intersection if one can be built. Though the jug handle is a decent alternative.
I have experienced some of these jughandles and they've been at intersections where traffic volumes are way too high for a roundabout. That would just get backed up instead in all directions.
@@maxsilverstone8600 Yeah, that's my thought too. Where there's a super high traffic volume, jug-handles are the best option. I've seen some intersections in Europe that kinda combine both with a round-about at the center but with some ramps to the right side to shunt away right-turning traffic from the round-about. So only straight, left, and U-turn traffic enters the circle. I dunno what those are called, but I like them. Too bad they take up so much space as I'm sure right-of-way would be an issue setting those up.
I recently moved to Vermont and there's a lot of jughandle intersections around here. They took some getting used to, but now I love them because on the whole traffic flows much better than what I see near my parents' place down south.
It would be nuts for a left turn against traffic from Routes 1, 9, 18, 35, 38 and 70, for example, in heavily congested areas. The jug-handles do work, but they can cause back-up during rush hour. The other New Jersey traffic spectacle are the notorious traffic circles or rotaries. That’s another topic worthy of a video. Nice work on this video 👍
you left out route # 22, 202, 206, 78, 287
Yeah, no………it’s called left turn only with green arrow…….this is a giganormic* waste of space, time and money…..
Las Vegas figured it out years ago……this…..this is something a challenged child would invent!
Growing up in NY, our motto for New Jersey navigation was, "you can see it, but you can't get there from here."
We also got to talk about the fact that some of the intersections in New Jersey have outgrown their jug handles. I know that the intersection of Route one and Franklin Corner Road/Bakers basin Road is crazy congested during rush-hour. The queue for just route one through traffic is insane and backs up past the 295 interchange most the time (that’s not even including the type A jughandle). There are also some parts of toms River along route 37 that are insanely congested during rush hour as well (namely the two intersections: Hooper Avenue, and route 166). I feel as though New Jersey should invest in newer traffic standards for some of these intersections that clearly have outgrown the jughandle.
Love the jug handle! Born and raised in NYC, I learned to drive in congested traffic, and thought that was all there was until I crossed the Hudson River and started driving in New Jersey. Route 17 was my favorite way to go to work in upstate New York, while still living in Brooklyn. I live in Kentucky now, and have for the past 39 years. Just found out that Lexington is getting ready to create jug handle intersections along New Circle Road, one of our major arteries, in order to eliminate those same dreaded left and u-turns. Over the past 15 years Lexington has introduced traffic circles (or round-abouts as they're sometimes called) as well as a European-styled crossover on one of our thoroughfares to ease traffic congestion. The crossover works great. Of course, it had traffic lights to control traffic. The traffic circles take a bit of getting used to as many drivers aren't familiar with them and don't know how to negotiate through them. Any way, this was a great video and excellent explanation of the use, advantages and disadvantages of the NJ jug handle intersections.
Ex Jerseyite here - for a few years in the early 1970's NJ had the safest roads in the country due to most major arterial roads having been converted over to the jughandle system. But it was also the same time that many people living outside of NJ moved to the state due to employment transfers. I guess that combination eroded the safety aspect. Also the state has not followed through on continuing the jughandle system on newly revamped roads. On State Road 70 in Lakewood and Brick Township, NJ the jughandle system is initially used at the western end of Lakewood. Then the road suddenly starts using left turn lanes instead of jughandles. And just as suddenly it goes back to all jughandles at the eastern end. Not a good combination for residents or visitors.
Hard to imagine NJ as being the safest with so many New Yorkers here everyday.
@@joeshmoe7789 Well, that safety rating was just for a couple of years back in the early 1970's. Things have changed dramatically since that time.
@@pickled51 I wasn't driving in the early 70's, I guess there weren't so many New Yorkers back then.
Heading up to new jersey for a traveler job, going from Richmond VA to South Jersey for my next job. This is a life saver, I would have been so confused if not for this.
Yeah, those things are weird. First time I drove through Jersey I had made about 4 illegal left turns before I figured out why everyone was honking their horns and yelling at me. After I did figure out how to use them correctly, it still never felt right to me. The ones I saw were too close to the intersection so there was never any room to get onto the road you needed to turn left on so it just looked and felt wrong to me.
Roundabouts on the other hand, I do like a lot more than the both the jughandle and the traditional intersection.
4:00 Holy cow, I recognize Park St. & Tyrone Blvd in St. Petersburg. I used to live down the street from there.
RIP to the deer on US1 North @9:12 🙏
Thanks for the video. My wife has never heard of or driven through jug-handles and I was having a hard time explaining it. Great job on this video… thanks again.
This seems like it effectively shifts the hassle and time loss onto the people turning at each intersection, instead of everyone going straight...and since you'd be going through many more intersections straight than turning, that should reduce overall travel time and improve the efficiency of the roadway. The worst downside to me was that pedestrian conflict point when entering the ramp. Cars are moving so fast at that point and haven't thought about pedestrians for miles, crossing those ramps is like playing Frogger.
Yeah, I don't see how anyone could say this design is safer for pedestrians and cyclists at all. It's basically a high-speed slip lane and those are notoriously dangerous to cross
I don’t know how long they been around but I remember I found myself experiencing this in NJ back in 2000, it took my several miles of traveling down the road to realize how to do a u-turn, I’m also from the central Florida and travel to NJ for work for a short period.
Bridgewater route 22 is one of my favorites
Thanks for the video I’ll be in New Jersey experiencing the jug handle for the first time. This video makes me feel more confident and comfortable with it.
In the left lane trying to go to a restaurant in Cherry Hill. OMG My experience exactly! Great job covering the issue thoroughly. I remember telling some kin folk about an intersection in Toms River in which you had to pass through the intersection 3 times to make a turn and they didn't believe it. The biggest disadvantage is even after you get used to it, if you go into a section of NJ you're not familiar with, you're never sure which lane you should be in, and in some places you don't know until you get to the intersection what the rules are.
Nice video. Funny how I could identify every single location you had in this video in under 3 seconds.
Yeah but when a Jersey driver has to cross multiple lanes at once to go from the jug handle to the left turn that’s just a Jersey slide so we’re used to crossing multiple lanes in one go.
The other NJ roadway expression is. You can SEE the building that you want to go to, BUT you can not get there from HERE. Yes, must drive out of your way and return to where you were.
If a "jug handle" for left turns is done correctly, I'm all for it.
What I dislike most about New Jersey is their toll bridges. They (the state) lets you cross into the state free, but makes you pay a toll at nearly EVERY bridge (some are still toll-free) to leave the state.
use to be both ways for a long time but its one way due to the delaware river toll agency. nothig to do with NJ as for as im aware
@@MetroHam: I still feel it's wrong to make drivers pay a toll (what I see as a fine) if you happen to have the want/desire/need to leave New Jersey.
@@dave6695
While do somewhat agree, its mainly due to it being private organisation controlling and operating and maintaining there's bridges tunnels or road connections.
mainly due to states lack of funding atb the time to build such massive projects especially since the north eastern part of the USA was so heavily invested in road infrastructure that the state couldn't keep up or support it so they went and private a lot of It
Leading to many toll roads and passage ways, even if they bought it up there's still legal requrimenst that stuff like this can never be founded via state funds due to at the time state not able to afford it etc.
@@MetroHam: If I ever get to New Jersey, I know there are several free (aka: non-tolled) bridges that I WILL use regardless of the miles and time added to my trip. I avoid all tolled bridges, tunnels and roads if possible.
@@MetroHam Private? It is a corporation owned by the bordering states and run by people appointed by elected officials in both states.
for NY-NJ bridges that is the Port Authority of New York New Jersey.
Great video! I just moved to New Jersey fairly recently (back in September), and this was something that definitely confused me when I first got here. I still didn't entirely understand it before clicking on your video, but after watching I totally get it now. Thanks for sharing!
What pedestrians and bikers are you talking about?
I'm in NJ, and have been here all my life. I've been driving for over 40 years, so I'm used to jughandles, and never give them a second thought. On rural US 30 in Mullica Township, between Egg Harbor City and the Elwood light, Route 30 is a divided highway with a grass median. Going westbound there are small jughandles for all turns at the side roads. Going eastbound there are left turn lanes in the median. To make a U turn from that lane, the signs direct you just past the side road, and you make a left turn into the westbound jughandle, through an opening in the jughandle median. It's always been this way, for as long as I've lived in the area. But just in the last few years, many eastbound drivers have been making full U turns from those left turn lanes without crossing into the westbound jughandles. With no police around, they are getting away with it. It can be dangerous with other cars around, but they don't care.
I have never driven on any of the roads that go from Philly, diagonally up to New York, and have also never driven in the northeastern area of this state. But in the areas where I have driven, I think the jughandles are a good thing.
Wow no left turn in new jersey and can't pump your own gas that's just plain crazy
More like not forced to pump gas
Jason Didner’s “You Can’t Get There From Here in Jersey” is a great song that lampoons this infrastructure approach. It was written quite a while ago, but still rings true for visitors.
My older sister been to New Jersey for the first time for 1 years and they don’t allowed you to pump gas.
Reverse jug-handle, stupidest thing. Makes cars wait through 2 sets of traffic light changes to make a left turn.
It actually works better when both roads have heavy traffic because of no left turn and the longer ramp.
@@justin423 I've found it to be a great way to pass up traffic. Stop or drive in the right lane that's for the reverse jug-handle, then change lanes to go straight. I got tired of watching cars do this, so I joined them. The spaced, painted lines allow this.
I was in New Jersey back in October and encountered this. It was so weird. Hadn’t seen anything like it back home in Illinois. Glad to hear an explanation
Out-of-state drivers: Do yourself and us a favor and, when you come to New Jersey, leave your car home. Use Uber. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind an inexperienced "furrin" driver.
Oh ... and this stuff about pumping your own gas ... Why would you want to get that smelly, dangerous, flammable, explosive liquid all over your hands and the smell in your car? Leave pumping gas to the professionals.
Not to mention who wants to get out and pump when it’s 28F outside and snowing or 98 and raining? I’ll stay in my car here in Jersey and not have ads blare at me on the pump like NY
I think I found the lifelong NJ resident.😂
I was working in NJ in the early 90s when they started enforcing the thou shall not self serve.
I have seen the same arguments about getting fuel on your hands in the local papers - in my years of driving, I have never gotten fuel on my hands that way. I figure that is/was silly propaganda.
Of course, if you have problems with that, most gas stations have call buttons for assistance - some handicapped drivers do have legitimate needs. It just seems rather silly to make everyone wait for an attendant.
In Eatontown by the Monmouth Mall, there’s a jughandle that connects to an access road specifically for a White Castle, making it possibly the most NJ Jughandle out there
I lived in new jersey all my life where jughandles were a way of life! But then that all changed when in 2006 i moved down south to Alabama where i learn you can only make a left turn in what they call a yellow safety lane a lane just for you and i found that pretty cool!
I spent some years living in NJ, and have returned occasionally since then. One of the biggest and busiest jug handles has since been replaced by a multi-level interchange at US 1 and Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro. It was a 3-way intersection with a reverse jug handle on only one side, and part of the problem was driver behavior. The jug handle could accommodate about 20 cars, but sometimes there were even more backed up on the main road. If they were impatient, they could end up blocking the intersection when there was a green light for the cars on the jug handle to go through onto Scudders Mill, i.e. they were blocking the path of the car about 20 cars ahead of themselves.
I now live in Michigan, and the diagram of the "Superstreet" looks a lot like a "Michigan left". Are they the same thing? I have done very little driving in the south.
I grew up in NJ. I cannot tell you how important it is to remember, on each road, which intersection is jughandle and which is not!
And, as for using the jughandle to avoid traffic? Yeah, I'm that guy.
They work well, but they chew more real estate, and I think that is why they didn't catch on in other places. I had never been to NJ as a trucker until 1999. They gave me directions to a place in Jersey City and told me to turn right at the Jughandle past some intersection and it sounded like gibberish to me. It wasn't until I got on US 1 and saw the sign did it really make sense
Route 36 from garden state parkway exit 105 to long branch is the only major road in New Jersey I can think of that has multiple left turns, even then most of them that get replaced get turned into partial cloverleafs, such as the rebuilding of the route 35 intersection.
I'm so used to this living in NJ I never even really thought about it. NJ is really tight and populated so they make a lot of sense for the state, especially living near NYC with all that grandfathered-in city planning.
When running shipping containers from Virginia to upstate New York, I started using NJ-17 between I-80 in Hackensack and I-287 in Mahwah because driving the length of 287 seemed to take too long as is generally a boring drive. I found early on that travelling on 17 is fast despite the almost endless shopping centers because of the jug handles.
This was common in Frankfurt Germany. And the timing of the lights. Like street cars each direction traffic went on each side of the boulevard or highway with trains of cars that were allowed to travel without side traffic interference. Cross traffic traffic lights only came on when a train of traffic on either side had all cleared. A clockwork online that I had been familiar, in 1981 and 82. Once I became comfortable with how convenient and time saving turning right to turn left was, I remember preferring it as it allowed much more traffic to get through the intersections with the wait time of two left turns are removed out of the equation. I really liked it. Three traffic circles connecting three autobahns. I got accustomed to driving through them but I can't explain them. You pick the lane you want to exit at before you go into the circles. As you make your way through the course of the circle you end up exiting where you wanted to be without any effort except picking the correct Lane when you entered. My favorite intersection was the third one described. That was the only type I saw while I was in Germany. New to our highways in Anchorage Alaska the boulevards swap sides requiring a light in only two directions with merging right turns whether you're going left or right while crossing over the freeway at the last or first depending on your view access to the highway bound for the bound from to the valley. During the evening escape, all lanes are filled from the controlled traffic leaving downtown which is where the right turn is from the other highway. There's no waiting an extra merging Lanes extend for a mile as traffic compresses and accelerates towards the s curves and 50 mile drive to the valley. When all three lanes are going 90 miles an hour in the 65 is on nobody slows down unless of course there's that courtesy officer that some can't wait to greet with clear roads ahead escorting all safely at 70 mph followed by long trains of traffic. Way back there is the caboose fighting its way to the front. So I don't drive those times I drive off peak when I can go 50 miles an hour saving gasoline as I've got plenty of time compared to money and I'm glad I don't make that commute. Terrifying on the s curve during the winter when it's dark. Driving opposite of rush hour traffic with all headlights in your eyes is like being on a ferris wheel with everything spinning past you at high speed and I'm thankful I don't have to endure that on a daily basis or ever again. That's my report from up here in Alaska. I like your video and I'll explore More. Strange kind of guy is I. Clueless about football, an encyclopedia acknowledge just like when I read the books in the library when I was a kid and I read everything I liked and mostly skipped the parts that didn't strike my fancy. Like a Granger catalog. I think every kid should get one just for the tables and charts filled with mathematical opportunities to challenge their minds. There's nothing else that algorithm found me something that wasn't news and that I could understand and enjoy. I didn't hear you tell a single lie and that's refreshing to the ears and no controversy except the foreigners. I'm 63 and recommended this video for 7th graders or younger. How can you make your phone help you design and engineer your own cities with intersections and traffic lights in the lake? I drew those kind of on paper when I was a boy. And Drew houses requiring neighborhoods and traffic lights. I even brought one that worked to the driving range in high school, finding an old signal in the Platte River, I got a 8-track tape recorder and some metallic tape creating a timing for the relays that would like the correct light. I got an A.
I live in the very area covered by this video and I agree with one thing in particular; Jug handles that connect the the crossing street too close to the intersection are pretty much useless in anything but the lightest traffic. I usually will avoid those and go to the next intersection that has a bit more room.
I moved to NJ in 1997 from Maryland and was not aware of this phenomenon. It took some adjustment but I eventually got used to it. Moved back to Maryland in 1999 so haven’t had to deal with it since.
I'm from Florida and reside in NJ currently. At the time I thought jughandles were an unnecessary extra step to making a left/u-turn but in reality, it makes driving the nation's most densely populated state seamless. There are a few that are rough, one of mine being turning left from US-1 to get on Bakers Basin Rd in Lawerenceville. It's almost impossible to turn in especially during rush hour. In the right places they work great but in others, it does get rather tough unless you're aggressive enough.
Thanks for the heads up. I'm reminded of missing turns in GA traveling with my gf and getting mad. I couldn't imagine encountering these without context or warning and just screaming at my GPS and myself.
I was in a car that was slow to recalculate. So slow, that by the time I got to the next intersection or ramp to turn, it would give me no notice and I would miss that turn too. What fun. Thanks for the nightmare fuel, and for the heads up in case I ever have to visit new Jersey.
it's so hilarious watching this and having driven all the jug handle locations mentioned in NJ LOL, great video!
They have a couple of these on PA-145 in Allentown, near the LV Mall, and honestly I really enjoy them. It takes the stress out of trying to turn left or U-turn on the road when its busy in the evenings.
I live about 40 miles north of Chicago and on our Highway 41 there is one off ramp just like this I've never even thought about it but I've always known it was so not the hold up the traffic in the left lane. Good video😁
I have lived in NJ my entire life. I get surprised by left turns lanes elsewhere
As a New Jersean for life, we love these things. We live to drive in the left lane even if we arent that fast, so keep left turn traffic out of there. We are also programmed to get right to go left, which is fun when I am on a road like this in another state.
As a southern transplant to NJ, I am a jughandle convert. Yes, Independent Blvd could use a jughandles. It’s so much easier to drive without the left lane back up.
South of the Raritan River, where population is not as dense, most intersections are the traditional left lane for a left turn. I grew up on the Raritan and never even realized how complex and confusing a jug handle is. New Jersey signs are actually very good about explaining what to do. It was a little confusing even for native NJ people before GPS. Now, just do what the GPS tells you.
I never knew this was a thing
Thank you for making this video it was enjoyable and informative
We do this in Rhode Island too. Of course, people think Rhode Island is part of New York and so it would be next to New Jersey and not surprising we would do this.
Grew up with lots of time spent on US-1 north of Boston (Saugus area) same thing, no left turns, so when visiting NJ along US-1 Edison to PA the jug handles were no surprise.
Drove thru NJ this year and didn't even notice. I went to Six Flags Great Adventure to ride El Toro, then drove south to Virginia. Avoided all tolls
So you would have had to have done the Trenton Makes Bridge and Conowingo Dam, at the very least?
I like your sneaky way around cars instead of waiting behind. No signs say can't!
Most of these type of roads have been upgraded to limited access highways in other states for safety and convenience reasons, but NJ is special. 🤷♂