Driver's License Test Prep
US Road Signs Regulatory Signs

You approach this No U-Turn sign and need to reverse your direction of travel. What does the sign require?

Square white background with a black border. A red circle with a red diagonal slash overlays a black U-shaped arrow that loops back on itself.
  1. A.
    Continue past and use a designated turnaround or another intersection. Correct
  2. B.
    Complete the U-turn only when the road is clear of oncoming traffic.
  3. C.
    Complete the U-turn only from the leftmost lane on a green signal.
  4. D.
    Turn left here instead, since the sign forbids only left turns.
The Why

The answer is "Continue past and use a designated turnaround or another intersection."

A No U-Turn sign forbids reversing direction by turning 180 degrees through this intersection or median opening, so a driver who needs to turn around continues past and uses a designated turnaround or another intersection where U-turns are allowed. Drivers who read the sign as a yield-style caution pick the answer that waits for a clear oncoming lane; the sign is a prohibition, not a caution about traffic, and a clear lane does not make the U-turn legal here.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Complete the U-turn only when the road is clear of oncoming traffic.

The sign is a prohibition, not a yield, so no gap in oncoming traffic makes a U-turn legal at a location where this sign is posted. This answer reads the sign as a Yield-style advisory that unlocks the maneuver once oncoming traffic clears.

C. Complete the U-turn only from the leftmost lane on a green signal.

Lane position and signal phase do not unlock a U-turn at a No U-Turn location; the sign forbids the maneuver regardless of which lane the driver is in. This answer borrows the protected-left-turn convention (leftmost lane, green arrow) and applies it to a maneuver the sign forbids outright.

D. Turn left here instead, since the sign forbids only left turns.

This sign shows a U-turn arrow crossed out, not a left-turn arrow, and it says nothing about ordinary left turns. This answer confuses the R3-4 No U-Turn sign with the R3-2 No Left Turn sign and flips which maneuver the crossed-out arrow forbids.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Regulatory Signs on the roads of every US state . Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sign R3-4 (No U-Turn)..

More from this topic

Related questions

Free study plan

A free knowledge-test study plan

Pick your state and we'll send a short run of study emails for that test. The printable cheat sheet is free to grab either way.

One email a few times a month. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. Privacy.