U turns — New York Permit Test
U turns on the New York permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
A U-turn is any turn a driver makes so they can proceed in the opposite direction.
Naming it matters because the rules for it are their own. Turning around is not a lane change.
U-TURNS A “U-turn” is any turn you make so you can proceed in the opposite direction.
A driver can make a U-turn only from the left portion of the lane nearest to the centerline of the roadway, never from the right lane.
Swinging out of the right lane crosses every lane beside it. The turn starts from the inside.
You can make a U-turn only from the left portion of the lane nearest to the centerline of the roadway, never from the right lane.
A driver cannot make a U-turn near the top of a hill, a curve or any other location where other drivers cannot see their vehicle from 500 feet away in either direction.
A car turning across the road is a wall. Drivers need the room to see and stop.
You cannot make a U-turn near the top of a hill, a curve or any other location where other drivers cannot see your vehicle from 500 feet (150 m) away in either direction.
U-turns are illegal in business districts of New York City and where NO U-TURN signs are provided.
City blocks are short and busy. A car turning across them stops traffic in both directions.
U-turns are also illegal in business districts of New York City and where NO U-TURN signs are provided.
A driver can never make a U-turn on a limited access expressway, even if paths connect one side of the expressway with the other.
Expressway traffic arrives at highway speed. A car turning across it has no time to be seen.
You can never make a U-turn on a limited access expressway, even if paths connect your side of the expressway with the other side.
It is prohibited for a vehicle to make a U-turn in a school zone.
Children step off the curb where a turning car is looking the other way.
In addition, it is prohibited for a vehicle to make a U-turn in a school zone.
On the test
What is a U-turn?
A turn to go the opposite way. Naming it matters because the rules for it are their own. Turning around is not a lane change. New York State Driver's Manual, p.37: “U-TURNS A “U-turn” is any turn you make so you can proceed in the opposite direction.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
What it costs
- One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
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- Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
- Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
- Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against New York State Driver's Manual, published by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-15.