Do you avoid left turns when you’re driving? I do. I’ll take different routes to destinations that are across the street from each other to avoid making a left-hand turn against traffic if the destination street has more than light traffic. I do that mostly because I hate getting stuck in traffic waiting to make a turn.
It turns out, though, that it’s the smart strategy and even the green strategy. UPS, who famously uses operations research to plan their routes and other operations, has studied the question and found that avoiding left turns saves time and gas even though it may result in a longer route. One UPS driver estimated that 90% of his turns were right-hand turns and said that UPS really, really hates left-hand turns.
I don’t know about you but I love this kind of thing. It’s geeky and practical at the same time. I especially like results of this sort when they’re counter intuitive as this one is. In any event, if you, too, avoid left-hand turns you no longer need feel silly; it’s the practical thing to do.