Carl F. Thelin

 MILWAUKEE U-TURN

           I am now an automobile engineer focused on safety. When I was a boy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I had to wait for two gaps in traffic in order to make a safe turn to the left. Then I had to accelerate hard to cut through the cars coming from my left and keep accelerating to avoid being hit from behind. Ice and snow made it hard to do this for half a year in Milwaukee.

            I learned to make a left turn onto a busy snow-covered street safely. Here is how it works even without the snow and ice. Take one lane at a time. Turn right when you see a good opening coming from your left. Next, start signaling a left turn. Do not try a U-turn on the road, icy or not. Turn in to parking lot (or a wide street) on the other side. Make your U-turn there and come out for another right turn. Yes, it takes a little while, but it is safer when traffic is very heavy and fast, especially if the road is slippery.