Pittsburgh left

The Pittsburgh left is a colloquial term for the driving social practice of a driver at an intersection who is driving straight not advancing when a red signal changes to green; instead the straight-driving driver allows the opposing, left-turning driver who do not have the legal right-of-way to turn left, often signaling their yield by flashing their headlights or with a wave. This etiquette is associated with the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, came into vogue because of the hilly terrain of the Pittsburgh region combined with the preponderance of two-lane roads.^[1][2] It has been criticized for endangering pedestrians and bicyclists by disrupting the normal flow of traffic. It is an illegal^[3] and controversial^[4] practice.

The Pittsburgh left is imposing potential danger to the pedestrians crossing in the same direction.

A similar maneuver has been referred to as a Boston left^[5] or New York left, but those maneuvers differ from the Pittsburgh Left; in a Boston or New York Left, the left-turning driver rushes to turn left before the straight-driving driver can advance, regardless of whether the straight-driving driver yields or not.^[6]