An Australian visiting Melbourne was left baffled by a “scary” but legal way to turn right at a busy intersection.
Corey, what’s up? @coreyyy.exe on TikTok, he described the horror of the dreaded “hook turn” that “nothing prepares you for.”
He stopped at a busy Melbourne intersection and, to his horror, saw a car in the middle of the intersection to his left waiting to turn right, prompting him to ask, “What’s going on here?” with disbelief.
Hook turns were first introduced on Melbourne streets in 1965 and were intended to give trams priority at intersections so they would not be delayed waiting for cars to turn right.
Confused, Corey asked his followers if this type of spin is normal practice anywhere else in Australia or internationally.
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Hook turns were first introduced on Melbourne streets in 1965 and were intended to give trams priority at intersections so they would not be delayed waiting for cars to turn right.
“This should be like a theoretical exam in other federal states,” he said.
A former Sydney resident responded that even after living in Melbourne for 10 years she still hates hook turns, and that another person would “hyperventilate” just reading about the scenario.
Melbourne’s famous driving quirk had many detractors.
Hook turns that involve turning right from the left lane
“I’ve driven all over the world, including central Rome, but there’s no way I’m driving in central Melbourne because of the curves,” said one.
“I’ve driven all over the world, including central Rome, but there’s no way I’m driving in central Melbourne because of the curves,” said one.
However, one Melbourne driver disagreed, saying he loves sharp turns and goes out of his way to look for them while driving.
Many people in the comments shared their surprise at suddenly finding themselves caught on a hook and not knowing what to do.
There are only 49 curved intersections in Melbourne, but people agreed it looked like there were more.
