Why You CANNOT Turn Left In New Jersey | The New Jersey Jughandle

On this video we talk about New Jersey's famous jug handle design. What it is, its advantages and disadvantages.

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Time Stamps:
Intro: 0:00
What is the Jersey Jughandle: 1:03
Advantages: 3:04
Disadvantages: 5:37
Thoughts and Conclusion: 8:18

[MileageMikeTravels]

Thanks for watching. See more commentary videos here:

[joewenzel]

Coming from a state that doesn't allow people to pump their own gas is it really surprising.

[iamme]

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!

[rlgx]

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.

[peterthompson]

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.

[EthanCole]

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.

[stuartwilkinson]

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.

[joniwellness]

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.

[brianpowell]

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!

[nathanbrown]

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.

[davidblankenship]

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

[alcubierrevj]

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.

[robw]

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.

[kevinboris]

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.

[geisaune]

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

[JB-]

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

[drdrago]

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

[Touchybanana]

Route 309 in Pennsylvania in Montgomery County has a few Jughandles if you feel like driving the full portion of route 309 in Pennsylvania.

[libra]

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.

[jamesthomas]

Thanks for this. I'm from NC, but been to NJ many times. Never fully understood the jughandle until now.