1 day ago
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Where you can and can't perform a U-turn across Australia has long been a point of confusion for motorists.
Add to that who has the right of way in a U-turn scenario, and things just get even more muddled, with a recent Reddit post highlighting that even when people think they know the rules – they're not always right.
Reddit user 53vodich recently posted about who has the right of way in the event of one car performing a U-turn while another vehicle is waiting to turn right.
The post titled 'U-turn road rules confusing' said: "If car yellow is turning right, then car blue will have to give way to car yellow before car blue turns right. If car yellow is U-turning, then car yellow will need to give way to car blue. However, how do two cars know what the other is trying to do and then give way accordingly?".
The responses were mixed. Most said to just abort the U-turn and make the turn right, while others said that the car turning right has to give way.
"Blue gives way due to the GIVE WAY sign in front of him," wrote one commenter.
"As an instructor, I teach students to abort the U-turn. They turn right into the side street and find another place to do a U-turn/return to that intersection and make a left-hand turn from the position of the blue car," said another.
"You're correct that blue wouldn't know, but in reality, what would happen is neither can move until traffic coming from the right is clear. At that time, blue would give way to yellow, thinking they were making a right turn. Yellow would make their U-turn, and blue would then proceed while swearing at yellow," offered another.
So, what's the right answer? If you said the blue car goes first, then you would be right.
The road rules in every state say that a car performing a U-turn must give way to all other vehicles and pedestrians. RACV has released a helpful video below, where the original Reddit poster got the screenshot from, explaining how U-turn rules work.
Where motorists may get confused is the road rule also specifies that you are not permitted to perform a U-turn unless there is a sign saying you are allowed to.
However, this is actually not the case.
It is indeed illegal to perform a U-turn at traffic lights unless there is a sign stating that you are allowed to, except in Victoria, where it is legal anywhere without a sign.
But, you can legally perform a U-turn at a non-traffic light intersection in all states and territories unless a sign says "U-turn not permitted".
However, the poster raises an important point: How does the blue car driver turning right know what the yellow vehicle is about to attempt?
Because the yellow car signals a right turn, which would give it the right of way, it would turn into a stalemate. As other commenters pointed out, this one requires common sense rather than road rules to pull off.
The most logical thing to do would be to either use hand signals to wave the blue car through or abort the U-turn, use the side street to turn around, and turn left at the intersection.
In theory, if you are the yellow car and you perform a U-turn while the blue car makes its turn and collides, you would legally be in the wrong.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
