What is a U-Turn on The Amazing Race?

Before or after completing a Detour (in which teams choose which task they want to complete), a team may choose to use a U-Turn on another team. That other team must now complete the other Detour option that they did not originally choose. If you want to be the team that gets to dole out the dreaded U-Turn, you have to be one of the first teams to get to the Detour.

The team that chooses to use the U-Turn on another other team will then place a photo of the team that they're picking along with a "Courtesy Of" photo so that the U-Turned team knows who penalized them.

What is a Double U-Turn?

A Double U-Turn works the same way as a regular U-Turn, but this time two teams each pick teams to use the U-Turn on.

What is a Voting U-Turn?

In a Voting U-Turn, each team votes for who they think should receive the U-Turn, and the team that gets the most votes must complete the U-Turn. The current season of Amazing Race, season 31, will be the first American season to use the Voting U-Turn.

What else do I need to know about Amazing Race U-Turns?

U-Turns actually don't have to be used, and when given the option, some teams have chosen not to U-Turn another team-sometimes it's simply out of the goodness of their own hearts, but other times it's a strategic move so the other teams won't hate them or try to retaliate. Also, if a team tries to throw a U-Turn at a team that's already passed the U-Turn, it won't take affect.

What other kinds of U-Turns are there?

Some international versions of Amazing Race include a Blind/Anonymous U-Turn, where a team that gets U-Turned won't know who sent them on the U-Turn.