6.1 Turns, Signaling, and U-Turns

6.1 Turns, Signaling, and U-Turns

Quick Answer: Indiana's first rule for a safe and legal turn is to move into the proper lane well before the turn, using your turn signal. Turn left from the far-left lane for your direction of travel and right from the far-right lane. Yield to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians. You must signal before turning or changing lanes. Lighted vehicle signals are safest; if they malfunction you may use hand signals, but you may not use hand signals on a driving skills exam. Stop or slow = left arm down; right turn = left arm up; left turn = left arm straight out. A U-turn is a 180-degree direction change, used only when not prohibited: yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians, never on a curve or approaching the crest of a hill, and never on an interstate — go to the next exit and re-enter the opposite direction. Median U-turn / J-turn intersections ban the left in the intersection itself. Only one vehicle at a time may move into an intersection to turn left.

The Indiana BMV knowledge exam tests this material on the traffic maneuvers and rules component (Driver's Manual Chapters 6 and 7). The driving skills exam watches the same habits. Both tests start from one idea: choose the correct lane early, tell other people what you are doing, and yield.

The first rule is the lane, not the steering wheel

The Driver's Manual's first rule for a safe and legal turn is to move into the proper lane well before the turn, using your turn signal. Late lane changes at the crosswalk cut off bicyclists, pedestrians, and oncoming left-turners.

• Left turn: be in the far-left lane for your direction of travel.
• Right turn: be in the far-right lane for your direction of travel.
• Yield the right-of-way to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians.

Far-left is not any lane that feels left. On a three-lane one-way, it is the leftmost of those three. On a two-way street, it is the lane beside the center line, or the two-way left-turn lane when that painted space is the designated left-turn lane. Far-right is the curb lane, not a middle through lane.

The manual diagrams four street combinations. The start-lane rule does not change:

Finish in a lane that matches the movement. Do not cut a left through oncoming lanes, and do not clip the curb or a crosswalk on a right.

Signaling: lighted lamps first

You must give a proper turn signal before turning or changing lanes. The safest signal is the lighted signals built into most vehicles. If one or more of those signals is malfunctioning, you may use hand signals.

You may not use hand signals on a driving skills exam. Repair a burned-out lamp before the skills test. An examiner will not accept an arm out the window as a substitute for working lights.

All three official hand signals use the left arm:

Do not use the right arm because a right turn feels right-handed. Straight out is left. Up is right. Down is stop or slow.

Center left-turn lanes and one-at-a-time lefts

Busy roads often have a center lane designated solely for left-turning vehicles. Vehicles traveling in the opposite direction may also enter that lane to turn left in front of you. Never use this type of center lane for passing.

Look for a sign with alternate directional arrows that reads CENTER LANE ONLY, or for pavement arrows. Some center lanes do not have signs or pavement arrows. The missing plaque is not permission to pass.

Chapter 6 also limits how many cars occupy the box: if you face a green light without an arrow, you may turn through a clear intersection but you must yield to all oncoming traffic, and only one vehicle at a time may move into an intersection to turn left. Do not stack a second left-turner beside the first.

A green arrow gives you the right of way if the intersection is clear. A yellow flashing arrow means turn only after you yield to pedestrians and oncoming traffic.

Right on red, and left on red from a one-way street onto a one-way street, were covered with signals: full stop, path clear of vehicles and pedestrians, no No Turn on Red sign, correct lane. A red light has ended your right of way; a permitted red-light turn is extra and conditional, not a free-flow right.

Following a turning vehicle

If the driver ahead has signaled a turn or has slowed and may be planning to turn, slow down and be prepared to stop. They may be waiting for a pedestrian, an oncoming gap, or a bicycle.

U-turns, interstates, and J-turns

A U-turn is a 180-degree direction change. It is potentially dangerous and should be made only when not prohibited by law.

• Always yield to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians.
• Never U-turn on a curve or when approaching the crest of a hill or grade.
• Never U-turn on an interstate. Proceed to the next exit and re-enter the highway in the opposite direction.

Do not treat a median crossover as a homemade interstate U-turn.

At a median U-turn or J-turn intersection, the left-turn movement is prohibited in the intersection itself. You proceed through, then U-turn at an upcoming median opening. Signs are provided to guide drivers. Forcing a left from the through lanes puts you in the path of through traffic.

Indiana scenarios

Downtown left. You are in the middle lane of a three-lane approach on Meridian Street and want to turn left. Signal and move to the far-left lane well before the corner, then yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.

US 31 center lane. The car ahead is slow and the painted two-way left-turn lane looks empty. Using it to pass is forbidden. An opposite-direction driver may already be entering that lane to turn left.

I-65 missed exit. Take the next exit and re-enter the other way. Do not U-turn across the median.

Skills exam bulb. Hand signals will not replace a dead turn-signal lamp.

Exam traps

• Turning from the wrong start lane.
• Swapping hand signals (up is right, out is left, down is stop or slow).
• Using hand signals on the skills exam.
• Passing in the center left-turn lane.
• Two vehicles stacked in the intersection for a left.
• Interstate or hill-crest U-turns.
• Treating a J-turn as an ordinary inside left.

Get in the correct lane early, use working lights, yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians, and treat U-turns as a restricted 180-degree move.