No-right-turns nav

For nervous and inexperienced drivers in Japan, turning right across oncoming traffic is easily the most terrifying hurdle on the road. Paralyzed by the pressure of judging oncoming cars and eager drivers tailgating behind, I built "No Right Turns": a web navigation tool that gets you to your destination without ever making a single right turn.

Routing with Only Straights and Lefts

Once you set your origin and destination, the routing engine calculates a path that completely bans right turns.

• Turning Right by Turning Left Repeatedly: When approaching an intersection where you'd normally need to turn right, the app directs you straight through instead, guiding you through a loop of successive left turns down side streets to merge safely into your intended direction without facing oncoming traffic.

• Prioritizing Peace of Mind Over Distance: Naturally, the route takes more time and covers more ground than the standard shortest path, but it reduces the physical and psychological risk of crossing active oncoming traffic to absolute zero.

While standard navigation systems obsess exclusively over efficiency, this experiment takes the opposite extreme: optimizing entirely for the driver's emotional safety.

Fun fact: UPS famously optimizes delivery routes to avoid left turns (the US equivalent of right turns in Japan) to boost safety and save fuel. Let's all just stop turning right!