By Lookout Staff

August 2, 2012 -- In August, Santa Monica Police will be cracking down on illegal U-Turns throughout the City and especially in business districts.

“No person in a business district shall make a U-turn, except at an intersection, or on a divided highway where an opening has been provided,” SMPD officials said in a press release.

Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said that a U-Turn is a dangerous maneuver.

“This turning movement," officials said, "shall be made as close as practicable to the extreme left-hand edge of the lanes moving in the driver's direction of travel immediately prior to the initiation of the turning movement, when more than one lane in the direction of travel is present.”

Targeting motorists making U-Turns is the latest in a series in which Santa Monica Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Section focuses on dangerous driving habits.

In July, SMPD targeted drivers who were tailgating or following vehicles too closely to provide for a safe stopping distance.

It’s not only motorists police have been looking out for. In April, SMPD cracked down on bicyclists who were not following the rules of the road.

According to police, a bicyclist is subject to all the same rules as motor vehicles, where applicable.

In Santa Monica, bicyclists are prohibited from riding on the sidewalk.