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U-turns are legal in many states at traffic controlled intersections as long as you are in the far left lane, have the green light, and no on-coming traffic is coming and no-one is making a right-turn on red that you might not see and hit.
However, CA is the only state I've seen that actually posts a U-turn sign at their intersections where they're legal. This makes total sense! I see far more motorists making U-turns at intersections in CA than I do in Denver or Phoenix.
I have a hunch why other states don't post these U-turn signs: they want to discourage the practice by not reminding motorists that it IS legal to make a U-turn at a traffic controlled intersection (unless there is a "no-U turn" sign posted. Am I on to something here?
I make U turns, and left turns, even when the light is red. I'm sick of spending my life sitting in left turn lanes when nothing is even in sight, especially late at night.
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U-turns are legal in many states at traffic controlled intersections as long as you are in the far left lane, have the green light, and no on-coming traffic is coming and no-one is making a right-turn on red that you might not see and hit.
However, CA is the only state I've seen that actually posts a U-turn sign at their intersections where they're legal. This makes total sense! I see far more motorists making U-turns at intersections in CA than I do in Denver or Phoenix.
I have a hunch why other states don't post these U-turn signs: they want to discourage the practice by not reminding motorists that it IS legal to make a U-turn at a traffic controlled intersection (unless there is a "no-U turn" sign posted. Am I on to something here?
As I recall, U-turns are always legal in CA - unless posted otherwise.
My thinking is that you're seeing signs that show which lanes can do what. For instance, there may be two lanes that could potentially turn left, and the sign will show that the far left lane can also do a U-turn, but the outside left turn cannot.
Otherwise, it's often posted when a left turn lane cannot make a U-turn, usually because the street is not wide enough.
Anyway, my guess is that you're seeing signs that are showing the exceptions to the rule as far as U-turns generally being allowed. Perhaps our state taxes simply pay for more signage than other states?
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