Why the 'U' turn?

[Lucy]

This may be a dumb question, but I'm gonna ask it anyway....why do you have to do u turns on a driving test? I am sitting my 'full' on Tuesday and have been practising these, as I keep reading how people do two or three on their tests.

I never do u turns in my normal riding, so I am practising these purely for my test. I did figure 8s at the RRRS course, and they were fun, but I don't do them either, when I am riding my bike.

Why are U turns so important that they are tested? Is it to show you are in control of your bike maybe?

[chanceyy]

my understanding is to show that you have good control at low speed .. but then I have not sat my full yet

[sAsLEX]

I have heard the Police are so poor at them they have them in the test to ensure that more people are not injured on our roads by incompetent U turns.

[Warren]

I do U turns occasionally in everyday riding, and I think most people do. I only do them when lost or go past somewhere I want to go (such as spotting a particular shop after passing it). If you only ride between known locations on known roads then you would probably never do one.

[sunhuntin]

i have done heaps of u turns when riding. my worst planned one was to take a photo of a cheese cutter. NEVER put your left foot down when there is NOTHING for it to lean on... makes it fuckin hard to get the bike upright!

as for why we have to do them... who knows. i know i did an impromptu one on the restricted [turning around to come back from the 100k section] they are a peice of piss once youve done them a few times.

[janno]

They show control of the bike at low speeds, and the more you get out and about the more you will start to do them in your normal day to day riding.

It's not unusual to see grown men (and women) on litre bikes diddling about doing 45 point turns because they can't do a neat and tidy u turn in a tight radius. Not a good look, and shows lack of overall handling skills.

[blue eyed savage]

whats so hard about them. only thing i worry about is stalling my bike.
did like 2 or 3 on my restricted, made a few wrong turns but still pasted. just praticed in an emty parking lot

[McJim]

It's not unusual to see grown men (and women) on litre bikes diddling about doing 45 point turns because they can't do a neat and tidy u turn in a tight radius. Not a good look, and shows lack of overall handling skills.

I can't do a U turn in a narrow road on my Ducati...but then there are ocean liners with tighter turning circles than Ducatis....

U turn on a naked 250 is a piece of piss coz the handlebars come round an extra 15 degrees.

[klingon]

When I was on my learner's I used to do a U-turn every day in the car park at work, to get in the right position to park. Then I got my restricted, changed jobs, and I don't think I've done a single U-turn since then. I hope I still have the knack when it's time to sit my full.

[Ixion]

It doesn't matter how far the bars turn cos you lean the bike, Just lean a bit more.

I don't understand how people who say they don't do U turns turn around ? I would do several every day.

[discotex]

Why are U turns so important that they are tested? Is it to show you are in control of your bike maybe?

You should only have to do one u-turn in a 50km/h zone for your full test.

The reason is it lets them test a bunch of skills all at the same time.

1. Indicating
2. Head check
3. Checking traffic hazards in both directions
4. Slow speed handling
5. Gap selection

Cages have to do their u-turn in a 70km/h zone or higher but bikes get off a bit easier.

Just remember when you do the hazard identification part to point out the tester behind is a hazard. Also tell them if it was a stop sign or give way sign etc. Don't forget pedestrians and anything else moving.

[janno]

I can't do a U turn in a narrow road on my Ducati...but then there are ocean liners with tighter turning circles than Ducatis....

U turn on a naked 250 is a piece of piss coz the handlebars come round an extra 15 degrees.

True, true, I must admit my 650 Hoonda is the size of a lot of 250s so nice and easy.

I can u turn on MY ducati though . . . cos it's a GTL500 so about as big as the Hoonda!

[Toaster]

I tried a U-turn on the M109R once..... after 3 miles, she finally came around and headed the other way.

[Donor]

You should only have to do one u-turn in a 50km/h zone for your full test.

The tester made me do 2 for my full - does this mean I am special?

[Toaster]

The answer to why is simple - they can be potentially very dangerous and present many potential "threats" from different directions - in front, behind and both sides when vehicles pull out or round corners at speed.

It is a reasonably good test in the right conditions to see if you can show an awareness of multiple threats and indicates your ability to pick a sensible spot to minimise the potential dangers.

The two recent cases in the media are sadly very good examples of a "simple" u-turn going very badly wrong and would likely be due to a number of contributing factors in the crashes.