u-turn or not to turn

Actually trucks are allowed on the southern section of the Golden State Parkway. But in NY the rule is stay off parkways.

At any rate no matter how you turn around remember better to be safe than sorry.

 

is that where the phrase really came from? LOL

 

I advise not to do it. Remember, your CDL is your livlihood. It helps to feed your family. Don't gamble with it. Drive to the next intersection, make the block, and make the turn righteously. That's what professionals do; the right thing. They don't take short-cuts.

Trust me, the local officer that stops you for an illegal turn, does not want to hear that you didn't know, or that you're sorry, or even entertain your bribe for the half-a-dozen donuts from Iowa 80, which you left in the sleeper berth!

He or she is going to be professional and cite you a ticket!! All while telling you, no driver, no questions asked! You don't pass Go, and you don't collect $200! Period!

Finally, professional drivers, drive professionally. Case in point.

 

U turns in the right situation are usually legal, but not usually smart. I did a u turn, , rt 301, divided highway, left turn lane, large crossover. my steers got too close to the berm, and the weight of the trailer pushed them a couple inches onto the dirt and grass. Well the way my luck goes, I've got tons of luck, there just happened to be a 3 foot deep hole right there. Steer tire fell into it and 2 hours later, 301 was opened again. And I knew better, but I must have left my brain somewhere that day.

 

Doing in strange area at nite can be really bad! I've seen you situation a couple of times---you're not alone! LOL

 

I haven't seen anyone mention it, but u turns with a loaded trailer really tear up tires and twist that tandem making the pins a real bear to pull out

 

His saying was this; "As drivers, we ALL make mistakes. The best that you can do is to try to 'minimize' your mistakes, and the other ones hope you dont get caught/or get in trouble with!"

 

I realize this is an old thread, but theres alot of good info here that other drivers might benefit from.
I got stuck while making a U-turn and it cost me my job. Traffic was little to none, grass was soggy, and I made a last second decision to flip a U. If I had set up for a U, I would have made it, but I was right the first time. I was going to go south on the interstate to the next exit, and just come back.
When does a U-turn become illegal? When theres a sign saying "no U-turns", right? One person said they are illegal, one said they are legal when done right. Which is it?
I was on a 4 lane highway with a broken median for access to the interstate ramps, and used the break in the median for the U-turn. I didnt touch the median, but the tractor hit some soggy grass and that was all she wrote.