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Vince,
It is a very tricky situation. Both of you must yield to ALL other traffic. I have heard that both will get tickets for failure to yield if you crash into each other. You did not have to turn into the other road, but you were right to yield.
I was at an intersection today when I decided to make a u turn. I was on a divided road with two lanes in each direction. When my light turned green and I was about to make the u turn, I noticed that in the road to my left there was a car stopped, turn signal on, preparing to make a right on red, which would put both of us in the same lane at the same time. So I decided to wait until they had completed their move. The driver was a bit sheepish, was waiting and looking even though the road was clear for her right on red. And she was completely unaware of me and my intention to u turn.
The car behind me did not know I why I was waiting, thinking I was only going to make a left turn, and blew their horn at me. I just made the regular left, rather than push the situation.
Would I have been within my rights (and within the bounds of common courtesy) to wait there until that car had made its right on red?
Thanks
I was in the same type situation just today but there were three lanes in each direction in my case and I was the driver making the right hand turn from a red light and he had a left green arrow turning light. Only the intersection's left green turning arrow lights were on at this time, everybody else at the intersection had a red light.
Here is the question: WHAT LANE DOES THE U-TURN DRIVER LEGALLY HAVE TO TURN INTO (left/middle/right)? I would think that the right lane is legally mine in this situation and he has to stay out of it, because basically my understanding of the law is that when you are turning left you must always turn into the left lane of the street you are turning into and when you are turning right you must always turn into the right lane of the street you are turning into otherwise you can legally get a ticket.
Anybody got an answer to this? Is the right lane mine or his?
For example: When two people are facing each other off on the opposite side of an intersection with a green light and the street they are turning into has two lanes in each direction and one person is turning left and the other person is turning right. I've been taught they both have the right-a-way to turn at the same time providing there is not other traffic around, they just have to use their own lane. Any driver at any time turning left must always turn into the left lane otherwise they can get a ticket. Any driver at any time turning right must always turn into the right lane otherwise they can get a ticket. In other words, one driver does not have to wait for the other, they both can legally turn at the same time they just have to use their own lane otherwise they can get a ticket. When there is only one lane in each direction it’s a different matter.
So what lane must the U-turn driver turn into legally when you have two lanes going in each direction and then I have the same question for when you have three lanes going in each direction?
Last edited by whatisthelaw; 01-30-2016 at 04:06 AM..
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Originally Posted by whatisthelaw
I was in the same type situation just today but there were three lanes in each direction in my case and I was the driver making the right hand turn from a red light and he had a left green arrow turning light. Only the intersection's left green turning arrow lights were on at this time, everybody else at the intersection had a red light.
Here is the question: WHAT LANE DOES THE U-TURN DRIVER LEGALLY HAVE TO TURN INTO (left/middle/right)? I would think that the right lane is legally mine in this situation and he has to stay out of it, because basically my understanding of the law is that when you are turning left you must always turn into the left lane of the street you are turning into and when you are turning right you must always turn into the right lane of the street you are turning into otherwise you can legally get a ticket.
Anybody got an answer to this? Is the right lane mine or his?
For example: When two people are facing each other off on the opposite side of an intersection with a green light and the street they are turning into has two lanes in each direction and one person is turning left and the other person is turning right. I've been taught they both have the right-a-way to turn at the same time providing there is not other traffic around, they just have to use their own lane. Any driver at any time turning left must always turn into the left lane otherwise they can get a ticket. Any driver at any time turning right must always turn into the right lane otherwise they can get a ticket. In other words, one driver does not have to wait for the other, they both can legally turn at the same time they just have to use their own lane otherwise they can get a ticket. When there is only one lane in each direction it’s a different matter.
So what lane must the U-turn driver turn into legally when you have two lanes going in each direction and then I have the same question for when you have three lanes going in each direction?
I didn't look too deep, but didn't see a specific law, meaning it's seemingly up for interpretation. By seemingly I mean if you get into an accident, then insurance/cops/court will decide how to interpret the law... and do you really want to leave it up to any of them, especially insurance (out for a profit, not your well-being)?
Arizona Revised Statues:
Article 9, 28-772: The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle that is approaching from the opposite direction and that is within the intersection or so close to the intersection as to constitute an immediate hazard.
Article 8, 28-751(1) Right turns. Both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
Let's say you're driving northbound in Phoenix (keep in mind the grid pattern) and need to maneuver around the light rail to take a side street you can't easily access because of rail obstruction. At an intersection, you intend to make a U-turn to go southbound. You need to wait for all southbound traffic to clear before you turn. Though you intend to turn to go south, briefly you'll head west, and if someone headed "eastbound" intends to turn south, legally they're going in the opposite direction, to which you didn't yield. Technicality, yes... but it seems to be a loophole. If I were a judge interpreting the law (especially mass producing trivial cases like this), I'd say you're attempting a hard left in this instance, meaning you should stay in the leftmost lane. Likewise, if you're at a green light and make the U-turn, then hit someone making the same right and moving into the left lane (your aforementioned lane), I would personally rule in your favor, because the law seems cut and dried here. The tricky part here is that the east-west car turning south when you're making a U-turn doesn't exactly know that's your intention, because technically they're supposed to wait until they're certain it's clear: to them, southbound is clear and they anticipate you going west, not south. In sum: it seems the U-turn should be the closest lane to whichever direction you turned-- if a left turn turn, then left lane; if a right-turn, then right lane.
Is that confusing? Possibly. But keep in mind, if there's no legal precedent, it's up for grabs. A lot of these legal/political issues arise because of either major conflicts between states and Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution, or because the law isn't there to allow or ban it at any level. In the former example, take interracial marriage and arguably same-sex marriage becoming a federal issue (both of which were isolated examples in their respective times); in the latter example, salvia is not banned at the federal level, but is legally banned in several states, though Arizona has no specific wording, therefore it isn't technically illegal. More localized: if you have children in your car in Mesa, you can smoke in your car because it isn't banned, but must toss it out the window before crossing into Tempe because it is specifically banned there. In sum: I would go with the absolute most conservative interpretation of what would constitute a U-turn here and err on the side of caution.
I was in the same type situation just today but there were three lanes in each direction in my case and I was the driver making the right hand turn from a red light and he had a left green arrow turning light. Only the intersection's left green turning arrow lights were on at this time, everybody else at the intersection had a red light.
Here is the question: WHAT LANE DOES THE U-TURN DRIVER LEGALLY HAVE TO TURN INTO (left/middle/right)? I would think that the right lane is legally mine in this situation and he has to stay out of it, because basically my understanding of the law is that when you are turning left you must always turn into the left lane of the street you are turning into and when you are turning right you must always turn into the right lane of the street you are turning into otherwise you can legally get a ticket.
Anybody got an answer to this? Is the right lane mine or his?
For example: When two people are facing each other off on the opposite side of an intersection with a green light and the street they are turning into has two lanes in each direction and one person is turning left and the other person is turning right. I've been taught they both have the right-a-way to turn at the same time providing there is not other traffic around, they just have to use their own lane. Any driver at any time turning left must always turn into the left lane otherwise they can get a ticket. Any driver at any time turning right must always turn into the right lane otherwise they can get a ticket. In other words, one driver does not have to wait for the other, they both can legally turn at the same time they just have to use their own lane otherwise they can get a ticket. When there is only one lane in each direction it’s a different matter.
So what lane must the U-turn driver turn into legally when you have two lanes going in each direction and then I have the same question for when you have three lanes going in each direction?
Here's an example that may just give you the direction you're looking for. I've seen several intersections where there's a sign on the corner stating "yield to U turns". Obviously they've had several accidents due to questions such as yours.
If it's a turn lane controlled by a light and the person has a GREEN light to make said U Turn you would be controlled by a RED light which means STOP. Now in the case of a right on RED it means STOP first and you may proceed when traffic is clear.
A GREEN light U Turn is traffic you must stop and wait for just as you would for an oncoming car going in the direction you wish to turn into.
As for what lane a U Turn should end in? Well, I believe it's the closest lane possible given the differing turning radius of vehicles.
I was riding my motorcycle and was in an accident with the vehicle making a U-turn and one other vehicle the insurance company's decided that the speeding vehicle was the only vehicle at fault not the vehicle that was making the u-turn I believe that the vehicle making the u-turn a Ford F-150 pickup truck full of household materials being moved from one house to another was struck by speeding vehicle while they were making their u-turn intern all the material in the back of the pickup truck ended up all strown crossed the six-lane highway that is what I hit on my motorcycle the furnishings that were improperly secured in the Ford F-150 although they say it's not their fault I believe it should share at least some of the responsibilities. What is your opinion of the scenario
I was riding my motorcycle and was in an accident with the vehicle making a U-turn and one other vehicle the insurance company's decided that the speeding vehicle was the only vehicle at fault not the vehicle that was making the u-turn I believe that the vehicle making the u-turn a Ford F-150 pickup truck full of household materials being moved from one house to another was struck by speeding vehicle while they were making their u-turn intern all the material in the back of the pickup truck ended up all strown crossed the six-lane highway that is what I hit on my motorcycle the furnishings that were improperly secured in the Ford F-150 although they say it's not their fault I believe it should share at least some of the responsibilities. What is your opinion of the scenario
I was riding my motorcycle and was in an accident with the vehicle making a U-turn and one other vehicle the insurance company's decided that the speeding vehicle was the only vehicle at fault not the vehicle that was making the u-turn I believe that the vehicle making the u-turn a Ford F-150 pickup truck full of household materials being moved from one house to another was struck by speeding vehicle while they were making their u-turn intern all the material in the back of the pickup truck ended up all strown crossed the six-lane highway that is what I hit on my motorcycle the furnishings that were improperly secured in the Ford F-150 although they say it's not their fault I believe it should share at least some of the responsibilities. What is your opinion of the scenario
I'm thinking that, if the things would not have fallen out of the truck if the truck had not been hit by the speeder, then it's solely the speeder's fault.
I was riding my motorcycle and was in an accident with the vehicle making a U-turn and one other vehicle the insurance company's decided that the speeding vehicle was the only vehicle at fault not the vehicle that was making the u-turn I believe that the vehicle making the u-turn a Ford F-150 pickup truck full of household materials being moved from one house to another was struck by speeding vehicle while they were making their u-turn intern all the material in the back of the pickup truck ended up all strown crossed the six-lane highway that is what I hit on my motorcycle the furnishings that were improperly secured in the Ford F-150 although they say it's not their fault I believe it should share at least some of the responsibilities. What is your opinion of the scenario
"If but for" law.
Quote:
In the law of Negligence, a principle that provides that the defendant's conduct is not the cause of an injury to the plaintiff, unless that injury would not have occurred except for ("but for") the defendant's conduct.
I made a uturn at a intersection on a green light no sign stated no uturn. Made a wide turn into right lane.looked and didnt see a car until in my uturn. Heard his brakes and saw out of the corner of my vision was able to get over into left lane to avoid accident.I hand signaled for him to pull over he didn't seem to notice or look at me. Wanted to see if he was ok I pulled over was upset saw him turn around was hoping he would pull over and talk to me. We both went out ways I was at fault. I don't know if he got my plate number. If so will probably hear from someone there was no accident . He was speeding down the hill.before I made my turn didn't see a car. In state of Az I am at fault. I will gladly pay the fines.Just very blessed no one got hurt
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Now in the case of a right on RED it means STOP first and you may proceed when traffic is clear. 
