Two-Way Left-Turn Lane and a Timed Turn Restriction
At 4:45 p.m. on a Thursday you are northbound on a four-lane arterial in Manchester, Connecticut, in the right lane. You want to turn left into a dental office driveway about 150 feet ahead. The center of the road contains a two-way left-turn lane: solid yellow lines on the outside, broken yellow lines on the inside, and a black-on-white sign reading TWO-WAY LEFT TURN ONLY at the start of the lane. At the signalized intersection 250 feet past the driveway, a white rectangular sign reads NO LEFT TURN 4-6 PM MON-FRI, and a symbol sign shows a crossed-out U-turn. Traffic behind you is heavy and a box truck is tailgating. You signal at 4:44, but the driveway is blocked by a delivery van until 4:47.
1. May you enter the two-way left-turn lane at 4:46 while waiting for the van to clear? Explain what the lane is for and what the sign means.
Read the worked answer
The center lane is not a travel lane. The sign and the yellow markings identify it as a two-way left-turn lane, which is a shared staging area for left turns into and out of adjacent driveways and side streets. You may enter it when you are actually preparing to turn, not to bypass congestion or to queue for a turn that is still blocked.
At 4:46 the delivery van is still in the driveway, so you cannot complete the turn. Entering the lane and sitting there would block the lane for southbound drivers who also need it to turn left, and it would put you in a lane that is not meant for through travel. The better choice is to wait in your lane where it is legal to wait, keep your signal on, and enter the two-way left-turn lane only when the driveway clears and you can turn promptly. If traffic behind you is impatient, that does not change the lane rules. A two-way left-turn lane is a tool for completing a turn, not a holding area.
2. Does the NO LEFT TURN 4-6 PM sign prohibit your driveway turn at 4:47? Explain how sign placement and the movement controlled affect the answer.
Read the worked answer
The sign is posted at the signalized intersection 250 feet beyond the driveway, and regulatory signs apply to the movement and location they face. On these facts, the sign restricts left turns at that intersection during the stated hours. It does not automatically extend backward down the block to every private driveway. Your turn at 4:47 is into a mid-block driveway before the intersection, so the posted restriction does not prohibit it.
The reasoning would change if the sign were mounted at the driveway itself, or if it were worded to cover the entire block. Placement matters because a driver must be able to associate a sign with a specific location. A sign at an intersection does not govern a driveway a block away. At 4:47 you are inside the 4-6 p.m. window, so if the sign did control the driveway, the turn would be prohibited. Because it controls the intersection, you may make the driveway turn, but you must not then make a left turn at the signal during the restricted period.
3. If you miss the driveway and continue to the signal, can you use the intersection to make a U-turn to come back? What signs and markings apply?
Read the worked answer
No. The symbol sign with the crossed-out U-turn is a regulatory prohibition at that intersection, and it remains in effect during your approach. The NO LEFT TURN 4-6 PM sign also blocks the left-turn movement that a U-turn would require during the current time window. Even without the signs, a U-turn at a signalized intersection is not a fallback move when you miss a driveway; it is a separate maneuver that must be both legal and safe.
The practical fix is to continue through the intersection, turn right or left at a legal location, and come back around the block. That keeps you out of conflict with oncoming traffic and avoids a citation. This is a judgment point the exam tends to test: a missed turn does not create a right to improvise at the next intersection. The signs control the intersection, and the two-way left-turn lane does not change that.