U-turn crash: who is at fault in Texas?

Are U-turns legal in Texas?

Often, yes. No Texas statute bans U-turns everywhere. But the law limits them in four ways:

• Signs. Where a No U-Turn sign is posted, the Texas Driver Handbook says the U-turn is prohibited, and drivers must obey official traffic-control devices (§ 544.004).
• Curves and hilltops. A driver may not turn to go in the opposite direction when approaching a curve or the crest of a hill if the vehicle is not visible to drivers approaching from either direction within 500 feet (§ 545.102).
• Local rules. Cities and other local authorities, Houston included, may regulate or prohibit turns at intersections on their streets (§ 542.202), and the state or a city can mark a different turning path with signs or pavement markings (§ 545.101(e)).
• Safety. In every case, a driver may not turn from a direct course unless the movement can be made safely (§ 545.103).

An illegal U-turn is strong evidence of fault. But a legal U-turn can still be negligent if it was made in front of traffic that had no time to react.

Why the driver making the U-turn is usually at fault

A U-turn is slow and wide, and it crosses or joins lanes of traffic that the other drivers reasonably expect to keep moving. Texas law puts the burden on the driver making the move. At an intersection, a U-turn starts as a left turn across oncoming lanes, so the turning driver has the same duty under § 545.152 to yield to oncoming traffic that is in the intersection or close enough to be an immediate hazard. Our left-turn page explains that rule in detail. This page covers what is different about turning all the way around.

The U-turn also has a second conflict a regular left turn doesn't: the car has to finish in the lanes going the other way, often right where cars from the cross street are turning onto the same road.

U-turns at a traffic light

The signal decides most of these cases.

• Green arrow. The turn is protected and oncoming traffic should be stopped. A driver on the cross street who turns right on red must first stop and then yield to other traffic lawfully using the intersection (§ 544.007(d)). If that driver pulls into the path of a car finishing a U-turn on a green arrow, the right-turning driver is usually at fault.
• Green ball or flashing yellow arrow. The turn is not protected. The U-turning driver has to yield to oncoming traffic (§§ 544.007(b), 545.152). The Driver Handbook says the same for the flashing yellow arrow.
• Red light run by the other driver. A driver facing a steady red has to stop and remain stopped until the signal allows it (§ 544.007(d)). A driver who runs the red and hits a car lawfully turning around has no right-of-way.

Where the turn finishes matters too. A left-turning driver should leave the intersection in a lane lawfully available to traffic going that way (§ 545.101(b)). Large vehicles that swing wide into a far lane, or into the shoulder and back, often hit cars in the lanes they cross.

Texas turnaround lanes at the freeway

At many freeway interchanges, the U-turn doesn't happen at the light at all. A separate turnaround lane takes drivers from one frontage road, under or over the freeway, onto the frontage road going the opposite way. Who yields there depends on how that lane ends: in its own added lane, in a taper that merges into the feeder, or at a yield sign. We cover that in detail on our page about frontage-road (feeder-road) crashes.

U-turns in the middle of the block, from the shoulder or from a driveway

Many of the worst U-turn crashes happen away from intersections: a driver pulls off onto the shoulder, then swings across every lane to turn around; or backs out of a driveway to turn around across a busy street. These moves stack duties on the turning driver:

• A signal is required to start from a parked position and to turn (§ 545.104).
• A driver entering a road from a driveway or private road must yield to approaching traffic (§ 545.155).
• The turn has to be safe (§ 545.103), and it can't be made near a curve or hilltop where the car can't be seen from 500 feet (§ 545.102).

Commercial vehicles and 18-wheelers turning around on a highway are especially dangerous, because they block several lanes for many seconds. If a truck turning around caused your crash, see who is liable in a truck accident.

When is the other driver at fault?

The U-turning driver's duty is not the only one on the road. Fault moves toward the other driver when:

• They ran a red light or turned right on red without yielding (§ 544.007(d)).
• They were speeding or did not slow when approaching and crossing an intersection (§ 545.351).
• They rear-ended a car waiting to turn. A car stopped in a turn lane waiting for a safe gap is not making the U-turn yet. A driver who hits it from behind has to explain why they did not keep a safe following distance (§ 545.062).

Many U-turn crashes end with fault divided. Texas uses proportionate responsibility under chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code: you can recover as long as you are 50% or less at fault, reduced by your share. See what if the accident was partly my fault.

How a U-turn case is proven

What matters most is the signal each driver had, where each car was when the turn started, and how fast the other car was going. That comes from video from businesses at the corner, dashcams, witnesses, the vehicles' event data recorders and, when the light is disputed, the intersection's signal timing. The officer's report may code the crash as a failure to yield while turning left or on a turn on red; that is an opinion, and our page on how to read a Texas CR-3 crash report explains the codes.

Once you hire us, we handle every conversation with the insurance companies, collect that evidence before it is lost, and check whether a sign, ordinance or road design at that spot made the turn illegal. You talk with Jimmy directly by phone, text, email or video call, and in person when needed, wherever you are in Texas. In most cases you have two years from the crash to file suit (CPRC § 16.003).

Other ways people ask this

Is it legal to make a U-turn in Texas?

Often, yes, unless a sign prohibits it, you are near a curve or hilltop where your car can't be seen from 500 feet (§ 545.102), or a local rule bans it at that intersection. Every U-turn must be made safely (§ 545.103).

Who is at fault when someone makes a U-turn in front of me?

Usually the driver making the U-turn, who has to make the turn safely and yield to oncoming traffic like a left-turning driver (§§ 545.103, 545.152). Your speed and the signal can affect how fault is split.

I was making a U-turn on a green arrow and a car turning right on red hit me. Who is at fault?

Usually the right-turning driver. A driver turning on red must stop and then yield to other traffic lawfully using the intersection (§ 544.007(d)), which includes a car turning on a protected green arrow.

Is a U-turn treated like a left turn?

At an intersection it starts as one, and the turning driver has the same duty to yield to oncoming traffic in or close to the intersection (§ 545.152). It also has to finish safely in the lanes going the other way.

What is a Texas turnaround?

A dedicated U-turn lane at a freeway interchange that takes drivers from one frontage road to the one going the other way. Who yields depends on how the lane ends: in an added lane, a taper or a yield sign.

Can I still recover if I was the one making the U-turn?

Possibly. If the other driver ran a red, was speeding or turned on red without yielding, part or all of the fault may be theirs. You can recover if you are 50% or less at fault, reduced by your share.

Does a No U-Turn sign have to be obeyed even if it's hard to see?

Drivers must comply with official traffic-control devices (§ 544.004). A rule that depends on a sign is not enforced if the sign was not in proper position and legible to an ordinarily observant person, so photograph the sign.

Authority: Tex. Transp. Code § 545.102 and ch. 545 (official text, TCSS) · Tex. Transp. Code § 545.103 (safely turning) · Tex. Transp. Code § 545.152 (vehicle turning left) · Tex. Transp. Code § 544.007 (traffic-control signals) · Tex. Transp. Code § 544.004 (compliance with traffic-control device) · Tex. Transp. Code § 542.202 (powers of local authorities) · Texas DPS — Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), rev. Jan. 2026