California never really caught on to the whole left turn traffic light concept. Or rather, Californians are too easy going to want to sit for a signal. We assume that we’ll all work it out at the intersection. A bit optimistic… but, since there are comparatively few left turn traffic lights, the way we all get along is to have an unspoken left turn signal at the end of every green light. Oncoming cars aren’t too aggressive about running the yellow, and the cars sitting in the intersection all get to make the turn after the light turns yellow then red.
But the other half of this is that only cars in the intersection get to make the turn after the light changes. So all of you BMW drivers, pull out into the damn intersection! Otherwise, you’re the only one who gets to turn left, and everyone else gets hosed. The more cars pull out over the line, the better it is for all of us. It costs you nothing to have this courtesy for your fellow drivers – you’re going to get to turn left anyway. Just go ahead and pull out as far as is safe into the intersection, I’ll pull up behind you, and everyone wins. A foreign concept to BMW drivers, but in this instance, it’s not a zero-sum game. Everyone wins.