Washington State Patrol Is Writing $437 Illegal U-Turn Tickets

Washington State Patrol District 6 is actively pulling over drivers attempting illegal U-turns near milepost 174 at Hansen Road on I-90 near Moses Lake, and the ticket is not a cheap one.

Consider this your warning.

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At $437 a pop under RCW 46.61.150, this is one of the more expensive driving mistakes you can make on a holiday weekend.

Troopers are not just watching. They are actively contacting vehicles and writing infractions on the spot.

Why Drivers Are Doing This in the First Place

Anyone who has traveled I-90 through the Moses Lake corridor during a busy holiday weekend knows exactly what is happening here. Drivers miss their exit, don't want to travel further down the road to turn around legally, and decide to make a U-turn on the interstate instead.

It is dangerous, it is illegal, and apparently, it is happening enough in this specific spot that WSP felt the need to put out a public warning.

The legal and safe alternative is simple: use the Hiawatha exit at milepost 169. Yes, it means backtracking a few miles.

The Math Is Pretty Simple

That is significantly cheaper than $437 and a whole lot safer than swinging a vehicle across lanes of interstate highway traffic.

A few extra miles to the Hiawatha exit versus a $437 infraction on your record heading into Memorial Day weekend. WSP is actively working on that stretch right now, and they are not letting it slide.