Pennsylvania · Handbook chapter 4 · 9 min read

Chapter 4: Turns, intersections, highways and parking

Pennsylvania rules for turning, center turn lanes, U-turns, merging and passing, who yields at intersections, roundabouts, curves, entering and leaving highways, and where you may not park.

Why this chapter matters

Intersections are where teen drivers have a large share of their crashes: in over a third of crashes involving 16-year-olds, the teen was pulling out from a STOP sign or turning left across traffic. Right-of-way, passing limits and parking distances are all common test topics.

Turning

Speed is the key factor in a turn: slow to a speed that keeps you in control and in your lane. To turn safely:

1. Signal three to four seconds before the turn.
2. Get into the proper lane.
3. Control your speed.
4. Finish the turn in the proper lane.

• On a two-lane, two-way road, turn left from as close to the centerline as possible and right from as close to the right edge as possible.
• On multi-lane roads, start a left turn from the left lane and a right turn from the right lane.
• Turn into the nearest lane going your way: left lane for a left turn, right lane for a right turn. Change lanes only after the turn is complete.
• With dual left-turn lanes, stay in your lane through the turn, because the driver next to you is turning too.

Center turn lanes

A center lane edged by a solid outer line and a broken inner line on each side is for left turns only, from either direction. Signal three to four seconds before entering it, do not enter it too early (the longer you drive in it, the greater the risk of meeting someone head-on), enter it completely, and turn only when the gap is big enough.

U-turns

A U-turn is allowed only when it does not endanger others. Drivers from every direction should be at least 500 feet away and able to see you. No U-turns on curves, near the crest of a hill, or where a NO U-TURN sign is posted.

Crossing traffic

• Stop halfway across a street only where a center median is big enough to hold your whole vehicle.
• Even on green, do not enter an intersection that you cannot clear.
• Do not pull out in front of a vehicle just because its turn signal is on. Wait until it actually turns. Motorcycle signals often do not cancel themselves.

Merging and passing

• Use the acceleration lane to reach the speed of traffic: signal, look for a gap, accelerate, merge. It is illegal to pass a vehicle in an acceleration lane.
• Before passing, check signs and markings, look ahead for hazards such as driveways, check mirrors and blind spots, and signal.
• Return to your lane only when you can see both headlights of the passed vehicle in your rearview mirror.
• On a two-lane road you borrow the oncoming lane: at 45 mph you need about 1/4 mile of clear road, and you should be going about 10 mph faster than the vehicle you pass.
• Passing at night is the most dangerous: oncoming headlights make vehicles seem farther away than they are.

Passing on the right

Allowed only when the driver ahead is making or signaling a left turn, or on a road with two or more marked lanes in each direction.

You may not pass

• Within 100 feet of, or while crossing, an intersection or railroad crossing (unless a traffic control device allows it).
• Within 100 feet of a bridge, elevated structure or tunnel.
• On or approaching a curve or hill crest that blocks your view.
• On the shoulder of a multi-lane highway.

Right-of-way at intersections

The law never gives anyone the right-of-way; it only says who must yield. If another driver fails to yield, you must still do what you can to avoid a crash. Where there are no signs, signals or police:

1. Pedestrians: yield to pedestrians crossing at any intersection without a light, in any marked crosswalk, on a sidewalk across a driveway or alley, and when you turn while they cross with the light. Always yield to a blind pedestrian.
2. Left turns: drivers turning left yield to oncoming traffic going straight.
3. Roundabouts: drivers entering yield to drivers already in the circle.
4. Arriving together from different roads: the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
5. Alleys and driveways: a vehicle entering a public road waits until the road is clear.
6. Four-way stops: first to arrive goes first; arriving together, left yields to right.

Lane assignment

If you end up in a turn-only lane, you must turn. If you are in a through lane and wanted to turn, go straight.

Divided highways

A divided highway is two one-way roads. Turning right onto one is a normal right turn. To turn left, cross the first roadway when there is a gap from the left, then turn left on the far side of the divider when there is a gap from the right. Turning left too early puts you head-on with traffic: watch for DO NOT ENTER and WRONG WAY signs.

Gaps you need

When two cars turn left from opposite directions, turn before the imaginary center point to avoid a "tangle turn," and never start a left turn until every lane you must cross is clear.

Jughandles

On some divided commercial roads, left turns are made from a right-side ramp that loops back to cross the main road at a signal.

Roundabouts

Traffic moves counterclockwise, and every entry and exit is a right turn, which removes head-on and left-turn crashes. The most common roundabout crash is a driver who fails to yield when entering.

1. Slow down on approach and be ready to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
2. Stop at the yield line if needed and look left. Traffic in the circle has the right-of-way.
3. Enter when there is a gap, then go counterclockwise to your exit. Now you have the right-of-way.
4. Use your right turn signal before your exit, and yield to pedestrians as you leave.

Never stop inside a roundabout. If an emergency vehicle approaches, do not enter; if already inside, leave at your exit and pull over. Do not pass a cyclist riding as a vehicle in a roundabout.

Curves

Too much speed in a curve sends the vehicle straight on: off the road on a left-bending curve, or into the oncoming lane on a right-bending curve. The most frequent crash for 16-year-olds is a single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crash.

• Slow down before you enter the curve.
• Keep slightly right of center on right curves and in the middle of your lane on left curves.
• The sharper the curve, the more you slow, and slow most when it is also wet or icy.
• Look at the inside edge of the curve to guide your steering, and watch for oncoming drivers drifting into your lane.

Highways and interchanges

• Make sure you take the entrance ramp, not the exit ramp. Exit ramps carry ONE WAY, DO NOT ENTER and WRONG WAY signs. A white line on your right and yellow on your left means you are going the right way.
• On a short weaving lane shared by entering and exiting traffic, the entering driver yields to the exiting driver.
• Look for a gap from the ramp using your side mirror and a look over your shoulder.
• To exit, get into the exit lane early and slow down only after you are in it. If you miss the exit, take the next one; never stop, back up or cross the median.
• At 65 mph you cover almost 100 feet per second, so a lapse of under a second can put you off the road.
• Change one lane at a time, signaling each time. Moving over for merging traffic is a courtesy, not a duty.
• Highway hypnosis sets in when you stare ahead without scanning. Rear-end collisions are 20 percent of fatal highway crashes.

Parking

• Park within 12 inches of the curb, or as far off the road as possible where there is no curb.
• If you must park on the roadway, use your hazard flashers and make sure you can be seen from 500 feet in both directions.
• Always park facing the direction of traffic, set the parking brake and shift to Park (or Reverse or First in a manual).
• Hills: downhill, with or without a curb, turn the wheels to the right. Uphill with a curb, turn them to the left. Uphill without a curb, turn them to the right.
• Before getting out, turn off the engine, take the key, lock the doors and check for traffic.

Where you may not stop, stand or park

• Double parked, on a sidewalk, in an intersection or on a crosswalk.
• Beside or opposite street digging or work.
• On a bridge, elevated structure or in a tunnel; on railroad tracks; between the roadways of a divided highway.
• In front of a driveway, or where signs prohibit it, or on a limited access highway unless signs allow it.

Parallel parking

Stop even with the car in front, about 2 feet away; turn the wheels sharply right and back slowly; straighten as your front door passes its back bumper; once clear, turn sharply left and back in; then turn right and pull forward to center the car.