To Turn or Not to Turn? Please settle this dilemma, Left on green

On a CDL Road Test, you have to make a left turn at a green light but there is no break in oncoming traffic. Do you stop before the line and don’t take the turn if there is not a break, or do you “claim” the intersection and make the turn on yellow or even red, when oncoming is done playing pac-man with the yellow light?

Think about this situation, most large intersections take 150 feet of path (One case 200ft of path) for the trailer to clear the intersection. In a manual even if the transmission is in 4th gear can go 10mph (15 ft/s) that’s 10 seconds to clear the intersection. With a 3 second window before the other light turns green, that leaves 7 long seconds to clear the intersection and not “impede traffic”.

This is real BS that I get conflicting instructions in this common scenario. I really like a straight forward cut dry answer. If you ask the examiner they’ll tell you they can’t give you instructions. In Indiana, the four-wheel operators manual states you can enter an intersection on a green and wait to turn even when red. But when operating a Class A it seems to be a catch-22 for “impeding traffic”.

 

Exactly! That’s what I want to know. In real life I’d just claim and clear the intersection, but on a road test there doesn’t seem to be clear instruction on this and been told you can be pointed or auto failed for either choice you make. I hate catch-22s bc pass/fail is not in the drivers complete control.

 

Common sense and what I’ve been told by my school instructor is claim the intersection, but he also stated they can still point you on it. However I’ve also been told by another class student that had to take the test again, that the examiner said he impeded traffic in that situation. I’ve seen from other reviews and on other comments on this forum that they’ve been failed for turning on yellow. My school initially sent trucks to one of two choices for testing. Unfortunately one has shut down, and only one remains in the inner city and the road test is more challenging. The examiner site does have a reputation for being very strict. I have no problem with being challenged and applying myself more, but in circumstances one cannot control and something being an unwritten rule that is ultimately a catch-22, I’m having a hard time accepting that.