Can a Driver in New York Make a U-Turn on a Roadway with a Double-Yellow Line?

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- The conventional wisdom is that it is illegal for a driver to make a U-Turn on a roadway with a Double-Yellow Line. That conventional wisdom is wrong. One has nothing to do with the other.

The subject came up recently in my reporting on the case of Alex McKenna, the New Rochelle Police Officer who shot and killed Kamal Flowers after a dubious traffic stop the night of June 5, 2020. McKenna and his partner claimed Isa Muhammad failed to signal before making a turn. There was no dashcam in the car. Muhammad denies committing any traffic violations. And no CCTV video, no disinterested parties, and no facts that corroborate McKenna’s claim that Muhammad committed a traffic violation. No tickets were ever issued. We are left with the word of two police officers — one of whom was until last week facing murder charges.

Since there is no disinterested party to the June 5, 2020, incident, McKenna’s actions on the night of January 11, 2020, take on added significance. On that evening, McKenna brandished his firearm, threatening two black people in a vehicle, after, he claims, the driver did not follow commands after, McKenna says, he observed a vehicle make “an illegal U-Turn at the intersection of North Ave. and Lincoln Ave.” then followed the vehicle to Memorial Highway. It is not illegal to make a U-turn at the intersection of North Avenue and Lincoln Avenue for a driver heading east on Lincoln Avenue. That there is a Double-Yellow line on North Avenue and Lincoln Avenue is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that there is not a single “No U-turn” sign on Lincoln Avenue anywhere in New Rochelle.

My reporting on the January 2020 incident triggered an angry response from some readers and surprisingly, some anger was directed at my reporting the fact it is not illegal to make a U-turn at the intersection of North Avenue and Lincoln Avenue.

sarahphotochick was the most irate.

“You gotta be kidding me with this article? How can you expect people to take you seriously if you write the most dumbest (sic) shit. I thought you were a good journalist, but your (sic) just an idiot looking for attention. Uturns (sic) over the double yellow lines are illegal,” she wrote.

“U-turns are illegal on North Ave! I've gotten enough TICKETS AND THERE ARE SIGNS POSTED EVERYWHERE,” she continued, in the apparent belief that the use of capital letters proves a point. I cannot tell if she is angry because she has gotten so many traffic tickets or because she is an angry person.

For sarahphotochick and my other confused readers, let me explain the law. You are not alone — even the City Manager, the Mayor, and the DPW Commissioner were confused on this point back in 2011 when they made plans to make U-turns illegal on some parts of North Avenue.

According to the New York State Department of Vehicles, Pavement Markings like Double-Yellow lines, are “lines and symbols on the roadway (which) divide lanes and tell you when you can pass other vehicles or change lanes” and “which lanes to use for turns and where you must stop for signs or traffic signals.”

Double solid lines: You cannot pass or change lanes. You cannot go across the lines except to turn left to enter or leave the highway (e.g., to or from a driveway or to do a U-turn see Chapter 5).

According to the New York State Department of Vehicles, 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. Unless signs tell you otherwise, you can make a U-turn when you get permission to proceed by a green arrow left-turn traffic signal, provided it is allowed and you yield to other traffic.

• No U-turns near the top of a hill, a curve, or any other location where other drivers cannot see your vehicle from 500 feet away in either direction.
• No U-turns in business districts of New York City and where NO U-TURN signs are provided.
• No U-turns on a limited-access expressway.
• No U-turns in a school zone.
• A three-point turn may be used to turn around on a narrow, two-way street.

The New Rochelle Code states where U-turns are prohibited on North Avenue.

§ 312-75 Schedule IV: U-Turn Prohibitions states “In accordance with the provisions of § 312-30, no person shall make a U-turn at any of the following locations” and lists all the locations including 7 where U-turns are prohibited on North Avenue: in front of 277 North Avenue, opposite 606 North Avenue, opposite 766 North Avenue, in front of 1255 North Avenue, in front of 242 North Avenue, from Fifth Avenue to Lincoln Avenue, from Trenor Drive to Disbrow Lane. There are a few “No U-Turn” signs in those areas, which combined, mark off a distance of a few blocks of North Avenue which runs for miles through New Rochelle. The complete list is described below.

As McKenna described the vehicle making a U-turn then driving to Memorial Highway that can only mean the vehicle was traveling East on Lincoln Avenue towards North Avenue when it made a U-Turn and McKenna followed the vehicle from North Avenue to Lincoln Avenue. As noted, U-turns are not prohibited on any part of Lincoln Avenue in the City of New Rochelle, something McKenna and his supervisors ought to know.

The McKenna case is what brought the U-turn/Double-Yellow line issue to the fore but it reminded me of a discussion years ago during a City Council meeting. Digging around, sure enough, it was a discussion about a recommendation by Alexander Tergis, Commissioner of Public Works, to prohibit U-turns on portions of North Avenue. One of those portions runs along North Avenue between Fifth Avenue and Lincoln Avenue on the area of City Hall, New Rochelle City Court, and New Rochelle Police Department.

The discussion took place on July 7, 2011.

City of New Rochelle

New York

CITY COUNCIL AGENDA

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SESSION

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2011

3:45 P. M.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS:

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO CODE OF THE CITY OF NEW ROCHELLE

RE: PROHIBITION OF U-TURNS — NORTH AVENUE

(Held 6/14/11)

Communication dated June 24, 2011, from Alexander Tergis, Commissioner of Public Works, wherein he recommends, based upon study by the Traffic Engineer and the Police Department, that the Code of the City of New Rochelle be amended to prohibit U-turns on portions of North Avenue, forwarded with approval of Charles B. Strome, III, City Manager, noted thereon, and appropriate legislation for consideration.

7.1. Ordinance amending Section 312-75, Schedule IV: U-Turn Prohibitions, of Chapter 312 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the Code of the City of New Rochelle (North Avenue).

Mayor Noam Bramson opened the discussion.

“Maybe I’ve been misinformed all these years but I’d always been under the impression that U-Turns were prohibited across Double-Yellow lines under all circumstances. Am I mistaken?

DPW Commissioner Alex Tergis: “I thought so too…”

City Manager Charles B. Strome: “We all thought so…”

Amidst some crosstalk, there some back and forth involving Strome and a prophetic Council Member, Richard St. Paul.

St. Paul: “you should tell the police officers that too…really.”

Strome: “well, we will…”

St. Paul: “tell the judge also”.

I reached to New Rochelle City Court Clerk Jimmy Generoso to see how I could make a public records request for all cases where a driver paid a ticket for an illegal U-turn. When I explained my purpose — writing this article— Generoso said “I can assure you it is illegal to cross a Double-Yellow line to make a U-turn.”

Generoso suggested I contact New Rochelle Police Sergeant Myron Joseph, head of the NRPD traffic division. I made a Freedom of Information request to Captain George Rosenbergen, the FOIL Officer for the New Rochelle Police Department with a copy to Sergeant Joseph.

I will be curious to see if any drivers paid fines for legal U-turns since the City Council meeting on July 7, 2011.

————

Below is a list of all the roadways in New Rochelle where U-Turns are prohibited.

§ 312-75 Schedule IV: U-Turn Prohibitions in the City of Rochelle

§ 312-30

U-turns.

No person shall make a U-turn on any of the streets or parts of streets described in Schedule IV (§ 312-75), attached to and made a part of this chapter.

§ 312-75

Schedule IV: U-Turn Prohibitions.

In accordance with the provisions of § 312-30, no person shall make a U-turn at any of the following locations:

Name of Street & Location

• Centre Avenue — Between Pelham Road and Trinity Place
• Clove Road — North on Clove Road at Coligni Avenue
• Clove Road — North on Clove Road at Parcot Avenue
• Eastchester Road — West on Eastchester Road 40 feet west of North Avenue
• Fifth Avenue — East on Fifth Avenue in front of 499 Fifth Avenue
• Lakeview Road — West on Lakeview Road in front of 14 Lakeview Road
• Lakeview Road — West on Lakeview Road in front of 36 Lakeview Road
• Main Street — East on Main Street in front of 969 Main Street
• Memorial Highway — South on Memorial Highway at Burling Lane
• North Avenue — North on North Avenue in front of 277 North Avenue
• North Avenue — North on North Avenue opposite 606 North Avenue
• North Avenue — North on North Avenue opposite 766 North Avenue
• North Avenue — North on North Avenue in front of 1255 North Avenue
• North Avenue — South on North Avenue in front of 242 North Avenue
• North Avenue — From Fifth Avenue to Lincoln Avenue
• North Avenue — From Trenor Drive to Disbrow Lane
• Pelham Road — Intersection of Icard Lane and Pelham Road
• Pelham Road — Between North Avenue and Centre Avenue
• Pine Brook Boulevard — North on Pine Brook Boulevard in front of 465 Pine Brook Boulevard
• Sussex Road — South on Sussex Road at Albert Leonard Road
• Webster Avenue — South on Webster Avenue at Disbrow Lane
• Webster Avenue — South on Webster Avenue in front of 574 Webster Avenue
• Webster Avenue — South on Webster Avenue in front of 1180 Webster Avenue
• Weyman Avenue — North on Weyman Avenue at Emmett Terrace
• Weyman Avenue — South on Weyman Avenue at Brady Avenue