Minister for Resources Matt Canavan claims no city other than Melbourne uses hook turns, which he says are "stupid". But research shows hook turns are an effective way to manage traffic where trams run in the middle of the street, as well as being a safer practice for making a right turn. Analysis by experts suggests that hook turns improve congestion, reduce tram delays (on average between 11 and 16 seconds for each tram at a hook turn intersection) and lead to better safety records compared to conventional intersections. In a statistical quirk, hook turns also appear to work to increase the traffic capacity of those intersections deploying the manoeuvre, as 38 per cent of drivers will avoid making a hook turn and instead go around the block, according to research.