A U-turn means

Explanation

A U-turn is a manoeuvre to change the vehicle's movement to the opposite direction.

A U-turn is a "manoeuvre", not a state of motion; that is, an act the driver performs in order to reverse the vehicle's direction of travel.

The technical reason for this definition is clear: all the driver's duties attach to the moment this act is performed — switching on the relevant indicator, making sure the path is clear, and giving way to vehicles coming from the opposite direction or from behind. If we took the definition as "driving in the opposite direction", every car travelling in the opposing lane would be making a U-turn, which is meaningless and creates no duty. A U-turn is also not the same as reversing; in reversing the vehicle's orientation stays the same and only the direction of travel is inverted, whereas in a U-turn the vehicle itself turns and, once the manoeuvre is complete, faces the opposite way. That is why the law lists a U-turn among the manoeuvres and prohibits it in tunnels, on bridges, at pedestrian crossings, at level crossings and wherever visibility is less than 100 metres.

• This phrase describes only a state of motion, not an act the driver performs; a car driving in the opposing lane is not making a U-turn.

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