In certain parts of the USA, cars are allowed to turn right from the first lane even on a red light, unless there is some explicit sign prohibiting it in that intersection.
Yes, and in that case the car has to yield to the pedestrian, if the pedestrian has the right of way. It's really very simple, and in every basic driving test.
The problem is the driver is likely looking to the left to see if it's safe to quickly pull out and not bother looking to their right for that pedestrian stepping out into the intersection.
I've been lightly hit a few times because of people like that.
I've also almost been hit by people ignoring the stop line and stopping abruptly in the crosswalk area immediately in front of me.
The laws are clear about this. If the crosswalk has a crossing indicator, allowing people to cross, then the people have the right of way. It doesn't matter what the person in the car is wanting to do, they must yield to pedestrians. If they hit a pedestrian, then it's clearly the driver's fault. If a pedestrian crosses outside of a crosswalk (a distance away from a crosswalk), they are supposed to yield to oncoming cars. If they don't and the pedestrian gets hit by a car, it's the pedestrian's fault. Got it?
Unless I'm missing something: Defining traffic laws is something that the states do on their own, and these aren't things that the federal government generally gets involved with.
Thus, there are 50 different sets of these laws, plus DC. Any similarities between them may be nothing more than incidental.
> The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 required in §362(c)(5) that in order for a state to receive federal assistance in developing mandated conservation programs, they must permit right turns on red lights. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have allowed right turns on red since 1980, except where prohibited by a sign or where right turns are controlled by dedicated traffic lights.
> Any similarities between them may be nothing more than incidental.
Due to the 1970's fuel crisis, the Federal government flexed it's power and threatened to withhold money from states if they did not adopt Right Turn On Red (RTOR), thus it seems that the commonality between states with respect to RTOR might be more than incidental.
(Also, your original comment was easier to understand.)
