Jug Handle Ban Advances In NJ Senate
By Mike Dougherty
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A New Jersey state senator's plan to ban jug handles (those intersections where you have to turn right to make a left) is one step closer to becoming law after it's approved by the senate transportation committee Monday.
If Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, the Garden State should be called the land of 10-billion jug handles.
Ocean County Republican Jim Holzapfel tells WCBS in New York he wants to stop future construction and use left-turn arrows instead.
"I think that they've probably reached a point where we are with traffic circles. Their time has come."
Holzapfel has been fighting to ban jug handles since 2003 and he finally has some support in Trenton.
"You know, the old argument is always they're a lot safer, and I don't see that as being the case."
Many drivers agree.
Woman: "Just to get on the other side of the road it's a pain in the neck."
Man: "Doesn't make a lot of sense unless you're used to it."
And that's the problem, according to Senator Holzapfel. He says jug handles have caused thousands of accidents and are as dangerous as the intersections they were designed to replace.
He says his bill would prevent future construction.
"It's not going to affect the ones that have already been built. We can't afford to go back and retrofit all of those."
