Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 346.33 (2026)

U-turns

✓ current as of July 2026
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346.33346.33U-turns.
346.33(1)(1)The operator of a vehicle may not make a U-turn upon a highway at any of the following places:
346.33(1)(a)(a) At any intersection at which traffic is being controlled by a traffic officer unless instructed by the officer to make a U-turn.
346.33(1)(b)(b) In mid-block on any street in a business district, except where the highway is a divided highway and where the U-turn is made at an opening or crossover established by the authority in charge of the maintenance of the highway.
346.33(1)(c)(c) In mid-block on any through highway in a residence district, except where the highway is a divided highway and where the U-turn is made at an opening or crossover established by the authority in charge of the maintenance of the highway.
346.33(1)(d)(d) At any place where signs prohibiting a U-turn have been erected by the authority in charge of the maintenance of the highway.
346.33(1)(e)(e) Upon a curve or upon the approach to or near the crest of a grade on any undivided highway where the vehicle cannot be seen by the driver of any other vehicle within 500 feet approaching from any direction.
346.33(1)(f)(f) At any place where a U-turn cannot be made safely or without interfering with other traffic.
346.33(1m)(1m)The operator of a vehicle shall exercise due care when making a U-turn upon a highway and shall only make a U-turn when the movement can be made safely and without interfering with other traffic.
346.33(2)(2)The operator of a vehicle may not back the vehicle at an intersection controlled by an official traffic control device for the purpose of making a U-turn.
346.33(3)(3)In this section, “mid-block” means any part of a street or highway other than an intersection.
346.33 HistoryHistory: 1971 c. 203; 1991 a. 316; 2009 a. 97.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 2002–2014 · leading case: State v. Padley, 2014 WI App 65 (Wis. Ct. App. 2014).
State v. Padley, 2014 WI App 65 (Wis. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 4× “Regarding the alleged traffic law violation, the circuit court credited the facts as the deputy had testified to them.”
State v. Sterzinger, 2002 WI App 171 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 3× “For example, under Wis. Stat. § 346.33 (1) and (2), operators are prohibited, under certain circumstances, from turning a vehicle "so as to proceed in the opposite direction" on a highway.”
State v. Antonio D. Brown, 2014 WI 69 (Wis. 2014). · cites it 4× “, Wis. Stat. § 346.33 (1)(e) (requires officers to determine whether a driver making a U-turn on a curve or crest can be seen by another driver approaching from 500 feet); § 346.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.