Can you take a left turn/U turn towards traffic lights immediately after a right turn?

Question

My friend did this recently while i was in carpooling with him.

He was taking a right turn (the smoother one which has a yield) and then he realised he took a wrong turn so he immediately took a left towards the traffic lights to go back on the same road from where we took right. I felt that was illegal to do so but he argued against.

What do yo guys think about it? Is it legal?

Answer 1

You are not allowed to do a u turn in at all in front of traffic lights  

Answer 2

Laws like this differ between country and state. Some states have laws that don't allow u-turns withing a certain distance of an intersection.

If there was a pair of double yellow lines, then it is not legal to turn across that in most states. You'd have to check the driver's manual at the DMV site for your state. Most are online.

General rule.--The driver of any vehicle shall not turn the vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction unless the movement can be made in safety and without interfering with other traffic.

AND, as a minimum, the u-turn would have to be started from the left lane, if there were multiple lanes, and the turn signal must have been used.

In all actuality, if a cop saw someone do this and there was any traffic at all, he would have stopped your friend. This would be a good stop for the officer to check for a DUI as well.

Answer 3

It is illegal and stupid to flip a U turn in an intersection.

Answer 4

"If you want to make a U-turn at a traffic light, you cannot do so unless the left turn signal is green or, if there is no left turn signal, then the light for through traffic must green. Whenever you make a U-turn, you must, of course, yield to oncoming traffic just as if you were making a left turn."

If there is no sign prohibiting u-turns, then it's ok, as long as you yield to oncoming traffic and do so safely and do not put anyone at risk.

To be on the safe side, I'd check local laws.

Also, check out the second link - you'll see why u-turns are a thorny question when it comes to legality and the rule of law.

Answer 5

Illegal, crossing oncoming traffic, crossing lines and they could have most likely ticketed him for careless driving.