Despite their rep, officials say jughandles important in New Jersey
People who live and drive through New Jersey are sounding off about a controversial traffic pattern.
Research shows that the jughandles work. But not everyone likes them.
In fact, one New Jersey state lawmaker has been trying to ban them for over a decade now.
But transportation officials say in most cases the good outweighs the bad, and say the jughandle design is here to stay.
Wanda Wymer of Allentown, New Jersey says, "I think they are great. They get you going where you're going."
Counter that with the opinion of Hamilton Twp. resident Shelia Solarski, who says, "I think the jughandle are time consuming, waste of gas and time that people don't have."
The jughandle is a traffic tool that forces drivers who want to make a left turn to first make a right, and then loop around to the direction they really wanted.
Mike Smith of New York voiced the opinion of many, explaining, "They are confusing. Many times, you know if you miss the jughandle you're going a mile down the road to get back where you want to be."
The New Jersey Department of Transportation says the looped turns aren't going anywhere, and will be considered for use on future projects.
Steve Schapiro from NJDOT says, "It's definitely something we are going to keep. We have lots of them. They work well, increase safety and reduce crashes."
In fact, a study by the Federal Highway Administration in 2013 found crashes at jughandles are 26 percent less likely when compared to traditional left turn lanes.
Drivers in the Garden State say they understand it best because it's truly a "Jersey Thing".
"I think it sounds a little silly when you're an outsider. But once you have to drive in New Jersey, because it's so congested, I think it makes sense - it helps the flow of traffic quite a bit," said Carin Lang of Upper Freehold.
Now, although the jughandles are here to stay, they won't necessarily be used every time. Traffic experts study the traffic flow to see if they work on a case by case basis.
