Driving in the US question!

[magnyseb]

Ok, here we go: I need to go the other way! Question: Am I allowed to do a U turn or do I have to cross the road and reach the street on the left?

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/154/carix1.jpg

 

[Llamaface]

Walk?

With all these nutjobs doing U-turns whenever they feel like it? Are you INSANE?

 

[luckyeye13]

Well if you driver where tourists are your going to get a mess of driving habits because most people are confused. It has nothing to do with Florida.

Well, I do understand that there will certainly be an element of that in there. However, I doubt that there are very many tourists in Ponciana, especially the residential area where I got into a hit-and-run. Also, the lady who rear-ended me at a stoplight on Sand Lake Road was not a tourist and the people who would do some crazy driving in and around the Orlando International Airport employee lot, which can only be accessed with an airport badge and parking tag, were not tourists either. Plus, New Jersey has many out-of-staters passing through either to go between New York and Pennsylvania or to visit attractions, such as the Jersey Shore. Still, I would much rather drive on the Garden State Parkway than the Beachline Expressway (528) any time.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

In New Jersey we don't have U-Turns. We have Jughandles...you have to go right to go left. Talk about a confusing situation.

 

[luckyeye13]

I believe that's because at those intersections, the people exiting from the Downtown Disney parking lots have a green right-turn arrow when the LBV Blvd left-turn lanes have a green arrow. So without the sign, you'd have two people (one making a U-turn on LBV, the other turning right while exiting DD) both with a green arrow assuming they have the right-of-way. The sign thus gives the person exiting DD the right-of-way.

Ah, thank you for that. Even though I had driven through that area many times, it never occurred to me that those two greens were simultaneous, though that makes perfect sense now. The one I remember seeing it at quite a bit is the next light, where 535 goes left and then passes the backstage facilities near Port Orleans, and, more than likely, that is the same scenario.

 

[luckyeye13]

In New Jersey we don't have U-Turns. We have Jughandles...you have to go right to go left. Talk about a confusing situation.

Actually, there is one in Piscataway just north of Busch Campus at Rutgers that is like a half-jughandle. Instead of staying right, you have to turn left into the half-jughandle and then it brings you into the lane. It might have been replaced, though, since I know that they were eventually supposed to extend Route 18 through that area.

I had actually forgotten about the no U-turn law in New Jersey and, soon after I moved back from Florida, just made a U-turn at a signal in Jersey City as there was no sign saying otherwise. Obviously, I couldn't figure out why there was not enough room for me to turn around! Luckily, there was no one nearby coming from the other direction, so that I could complete the maneuver. Also lucky was the fact that there wasn't a cop nearby! :lookaroun

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Here in Canada, a vehicle with a green light has right-of-way over a vehicle with a red light. So if you're turning right on red you have to ensure the intersection is clear of on-coming traffic from both directions before proceeding. The vehicle doing a U-Turn on green has priority, so long as they've confirmed there is no on-coming traffic coming toward them.

Hm. Thats a little bit different than what I'm familar with. In my part of the world (Palm Beach County, FL), a U-turn yields to a right turn. The reason for that is because they put a green arrow for both a right turn AND a left turn. Its complicated, and I really don't understand why its done that way. To me, the U-turn should have the right of way; after all, they have the green arrow, and they are already on that particular street. The right turn should yield the U-turn.

Now, in regards to your question, as far as U-turns go, unless there is a sign denoting that a U-turn cannot be permitted, you should be allowed to make aa U-turn.

If you see this sign, don't do it. Otherwise, have at it (with caution of course )

 

[Monty]

Hm. Thats a little bit different than what I'm familar with. In my part of the world (Palm Beach County, FL), a U-turn yields to a right turn. The reason for that is because they put a green arrow for both a right turn AND a left turn. Its complicated, and I really don't understand why its done that way. To me, the U-turn should have the right of way; after all, they have the green arrow, and they are already on that particular street. The right turn should yield the U-turn.

Now, in regards to your question, as far as U-turns go, unless there is a sign denoting that a U-turn cannot be permitted, you should be allowed to make aa U-turn.

If you see this sign, don't do it. Otherwise, have at it (with caution of course )

Here if there are green arrows left and right, they'll also have a no-U-turn sign. Very few intersections have arrows here. So maybe we're not so different.