Michigan driving lesson · Signs, Signals, and Pavement Markings
Michigan Lefts and yield lines
A 3-minute lesson from the Michigan course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Michigan is famous for its indirect left turns. Instead of turning left at the intersection, you go past it (or turn right) and U-turn at a median crossover.
Michigan Left
An indirect left turn: intersections that ban normal left turns; to go left you drive straight through or turn right, then U-turn at a median crossover.
A single-lane Michigan Left is for one vehicle at a time. Extra width in some crossovers is for large vehicles like tractor trailers and RVs, not for side-by-side cars.
A multi-lane Michigan Left lets two vehicles turn at once; arrows, ONLY lettering and solid white lines show both lanes may turn. Treat an unmarked median crossover as single-lane.
You reach a median crossover with room for two cars side by side but no arrows or ONLY markings. Treat it as a single-lane crossover and turn one vehicle at a time.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
What is a Michigan Left designed to eliminate at an intersection?
Right turns
U-turns only
Traditional direct left-turn movements
Pedestrian crossings
Answer: Traditional direct left-turn movements
Intersections with Michigan Lefts do not allow traditional direct left-turn movements.
