The Right Hook: Why Protected Lanes Still Kill at Intersections

The Right Hook: Why Protected Lanes Still Kill at Intersections

Protected bike lanes feel amazing: you’re finally not riding in the same space as two tons of steel. But the moment you hit a busy intersection, that comfort can vanish. Turn lanes appear, paint suddenly replaces concrete, and drivers start doing fast, last-second turns across your path.

That’s where the right hook lives – and why even cities building good protected lanes still see serious crashes at intersections.

This article digs into:

• What a right-hook crash is and why it’s so common
• Why “great mid-block, bad at the corners” is such a persistent design failure
• How Dutch-style protected intersections fix the problem
• Where a Loud Bicycle horn (like Loud Mini) fits in as a last-chance safety tool

What exactly is a right hook?

A right hook happens when:

A driver turns right across the path of a person biking straight, usually in the same direction and usually at or near an intersection.

Common patterns:

• A driver overtakes you, then immediately turns right across your front wheel.
• A driver in a right-turn lane or slip lane turns through the bike lane without really checking for bikes.
• A truck or bus starts the turn slowly, but you disappear into a blind spot and get hit as they complete the turn.

Studies looking at intersection crashes in North America have found that a large share of serious urban cyclist fatalities occur at intersections, and right-turn-vs-through-bike conflicts (“right hooks”) are consistently one of the most common crash types.¹²

Protected lanes help a lot between intersections. But at the corner, things get complicated.

Why protected lanes still fail at intersections

Even in cities that build good separated lanes, a bunch of design and human-factors issues combine to keep intersections dangerous.

1. The protection disappears right where risk is highest

A classic failure:

• You have a nicely separated lane mid-block…
• …that suddenly drops to a narrow painted lane approaching the intersection…
• …and then dumps you into turning traffic in a mixing zone or shared lane.

Guides from NACTO and FHWA are very clear about this: you shouldn’t give up the bikeway at the intersection, because that’s where conflict and complexity peak.³⁴ But a lot of built projects still do.

2. Drivers are scanning for gaps in car traffic, not for you

At a busy intersection, drivers turning right are usually:

• Looking left for a gap in through car traffic
• Watching the light
• Managing multiple lanes and maybe a crosswalk

A person on a bike in a curb-side lane or behind a row of parked cars is easy to miss in this mental load. If the design also hides you behind a bus or a parked car until the last second, you’re basically a jump scare on wheels.

3. Geometry encourages fast, sweeping turns

Big turning radii and wide lanes invite drivers to take quick, shallow right turns instead of slow, careful ones.³ Those high-speed turns are exactly what you don’t want when someone on a bike might be going straight through the conflict zone.

4. Trucks and buses have brutal blind spots

On streets with a lot of freight or buses, the right-front corner of large vehicles can completely hide a cyclist:

• You appear in the mirror briefly…
• …then vanish as the driver starts turning.

If the bike lane runs tight along the curb with no setback, you’re right in that no-man’s-land at the worst moment.

5. Signal timing often prioritizes car throughput

Even where bike signals exist, it’s common to see:

• Concurrent phasing: right turns get green at the same time bikes go straight
• Short all-red and clearance times that assume car speeds, not bike speeds
• No leading interval for people walking or biking

That means you’re legally green while drivers are also legally allowed to turn through you – the classic recipe for right-hook conflicts.

What actually works: Dutch-style protected intersections

The good news: we know how to drastically reduce right-hook risk. Dutch-style protected intersections have now been adapted for North America and are in FHWA and TRB guidance as a promising design.¹²⁵⁶

Key ingredients:

1. Setback bike and crosswalk crossings

• The bike crossing is moved a few meters back from the motor vehicle stop line.
• Drivers turn, slow, and then meet the bike crossing at a right angle instead of skimming through at speed.⁵

That does two things:

• Gives drivers more time to see you and yield
• Makes the angle of conflict more visible and easier to process

2. Corner refuge islands

Concrete islands at the corners:

• Tighten the turning radius, forcing slower turns
• Keep the bike lane physically separated almost all the way through the junction⁵
• Create a small “waiting pocket” where a turning driver can sit, aligned with the bike crossing, and look clearly toward oncoming bikes

3. Separate signal timing (or at least a head start)

Best practice at busy intersections is:

• Fully separate phases so bikes go straight while turning drivers get a red, or
• Give bikes and pedestrians a leading interval before cars get a green, so you’re already in the crossing and more obvious when drivers start moving.³

4. Daylighting and clear sightlines

Protected intersections and modern design guides also emphasize:

• Daylighting: ban parking close to the corner so people can see each other
• High-visibility crossbike markings (green stripes/boxes)
• Consistent vertical elements (posts, curbs) up to the crossing³⁴

When cities build these designs correctly, you don’t just “feel” safer; measured conflict rates and serious crashes drop.

Where a Loud Bicycle horn fits: not a cure, but a band aid

All of that is the structural fix. But what about today, at the imperfect intersection you actually ride through?

This is where an emergency-only, car-like horn such as the Loud Mini from Loud Bicycle can give you one more tool when things go wrong.

Why loud, car-like sound matters at intersections

At a sketchy corner, time is measured in fractions of a second:

• A driver begins to roll through their right turn…
• You’re already in the conflict zone…
• You have maybe one second to change the script.

The advantages of a horn that sounds like a car horn here:

• Instant recognition – drivers are trained from day one to respond to that particular sound as “danger right now,” not “maybe a bell from somewhere.”
• Broadband, directional sound – our ears localize sharp, broadband sounds faster and more accurately than soft, pure tones, so drivers can turn their head toward you more quickly.
• Cuts through closed windows, music, HVAC – at urban intersections, many drivers are in climate-controlled bubbles. A quiet bike bell often never gets in.

A short, sharp blast can cause people driving to freeze or brake instead of continuing blindly over you.

How to ride right-hook-heavy intersections more safely (right now)

Until your city retrofits every junction, there are practical things you can do:

1. Change your position approaching the corner

• If there’s a painted lane that tightens next to right-turning cars, consider riding slightly left in the lane (take more space) so you’re harder to pass and cut off.
• In heavy truck areas, it’s often safer to hang back behind the rear wheels of a big vehicle rather than sitting next to the cab at the corner.

2. Control your speed and scan aggressively

• Ease off the pedals as you approach the intersection; don’t blast through on “I have the green, it’s fine.”
• Watch front wheels and turn signals, not just car bodies – wheels betray a turn earlier.

3. Make your presence known before it’s critical

• Good lights, reflective gear, and lane position are the first line.
• If you see a driver creeping with that “I might turn across you” body language, eye contact can help.
• If they are still rolling into your path, that’s when a Loud Mini level honk can be the difference between “oops, they stop” and “they never noticed you were there.”

4. Always have an escape path in mind

As you roll toward the intersection, ask:

• If this car turns on me, where do I go?
  • Can I bail into a buffer or empty parking lane?
  • Is there a gap between parked cars?
  • Can I brake straight without getting rear-ended?

You’ll still be surprised sometimes, but thinking in “escape routes” makes it easier to act when your brain hits the panic button.

The real fix is concrete, not decibels

It’s tempting for agencies to lean on education campaigns and “be visible” messaging, but the data are clear:

• A large share of serious cyclist injuries and deaths still happen at intersections, even in cities adding bike lanes.¹²
• Engineering changes – protected intersections, better signal phasing, daylighting, and lower turning speeds – are what reliably turn that curve downward.¹³⁴⁵

Horns, lights, and rider skill are absolutely worth having. A Loud Bicycle horn can give you a crucial extra second at exactly the moment a driver is about to right-hook you, and that can be the difference between a near-miss and an ambulance.

But if your city is serious about safety, the ask shouldn’t victim blamd and say “buy better gear.” It should be:

• Don’t drop protection at the corners.
• Slow turning traffic down.
• Give people on bikes their own space.

Do that, and the horn on your bars becomes what it should be: a rarely used backup, in a street system that’s finally designed not to right-hook you in the first place.

References