When it’s OK to make a U-turn
Published 1:53 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Jim Rowlan writes: “I’ve always thought that U-turns are only allowed where they are explicitly allowed and that a left-turn only sign meant just that. Over the past few weeks, I have been nearly hit at the intersection of 200th Street SW and 44th Avenue W in Lynnwood while turning right on a protected green arrow by vehicles making a U-turn at the intersection.”
Julie Moore, a spokesperson with Lynnwood, talked to the city’s traffic engineer and responded: “In Washington state, U-turns are legal at signalized intersections when the driver has a green light, unless otherwise noted. They do have a responsibility to make the maneuver safely, ensuring they yield to other drivers. Sometimes drivers that would be taking a right turn (to the U-turn driver’s left) have a green arrow.”
For the record, then, U-turns are legal at 200th and 44th — but not when oncoming traffic is making that protected right turn.
More broadly, state law allows U-turns pretty much anywhere as long as it’s safe to do so. U-turns are never allowed on a curve or when approaching the crest of a hill.
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