My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California
Got a ticket today and I am not sure if I am guilty or not. I was leaving for work this morning. My car was parallel parked on a curb facing northbound. In the center of the road is a Two Way Left Turn Lane. In order to get to work I needed to get onto the southbound lane, opposite side from where I was parked. I shift my car around and angle it to get ready to leave my parking spot. I look left, right, and left before making my move. No incoming traffic from either direction. I proceed to turn left and initiate a U-turn from where I was parked on the curb.
I drive across the Two Way Left Turn Lane, and complete my U-turn while on the southbound lane. I thought that crossing the central Two Way Left Turn Lane in this scenario is ok because the lane itself has broken lines inside the solid lines. However, a couple seconds later a cop on a motorcycle is behind me with his lights on and pulls me over. I pull over to the curb to my right and park. He said I made an illegal turn. I said I thought it was ok what I did because the lane in the middle of the road had broken lines. He said, yes, that was ok, but I did not use the middle lane.
I still did not get why I was at fault at that point. In my mind I was thinking there was no need to stay in the middle lane at the time as there was no traffic to yield from either southbound or northbound lanes. Did he mean I should have completed my U-Turn on the center Two Way Left Turn Lane First first and then proceeded to the southbound lane or did he mean I should have made my way to the Two Way Left Turn Lane first while facing northbound still then proceed to execute a U-turn from there? I tried to ask him questions but he said he couldn't spend time explaining and that he had a whole bunch of other complaints to deal with. "WTF?!" I was merely asking to clarify about the violation he is accusing me for.
Anyways, he proceeds to write me a ticket for VC 21460.5 (c) and wrote down next to the code, "U-turn from curb failing to use center most lane." I look up the vehicle code later in the day and it states:
"(c) A vehicle shall not be driven in a designated two-way left-turn lane except when preparing for or making a left turn from or into a highway or when preparing for or making a U-turn when otherwise permitted by law, and shall not be driven in that lane for more than 200 feet while preparing for and making the turn or while preparing to merge into the adjacent lanes of travel. A left turn or U-turn shall not be made from any other lane where a two-way left-turn lane has been designated."
Where here does it mention the requirement to use the center most lane? Am I reading something incorrectly?
Furthermore section (d) states:
"(d) This section does not prohibit driving across a two-way left-turn lane."
After reading this I still don't see how I am guilty. Can someone please help clarify? If I am guilty, I'm ok with it. I'll take the point on my record and pay the fee. I just want to understand why I am at fault to justify this ticket. However, If I do have a case against this ticket please let me know and I will proceed to take it to court, something that I have never done in my life.
Got a ticket today and I am not sure if I am guilty or not. I was leaving for work this morning. My car was parallel parked on a curb facing northbound. In the center of the road is a Two Way Left Turn Lane. In order to get to work I needed to get onto the southbound lane, opposite side from where I was parked. I shift my car around and angle it to get ready to leave my parking spot. I look left, right, and left before making my move. No incoming traffic from either direction. I proceed to turn left and initiate a U-turn from where I was parked on the curb.
I drive across the Two Way Left Turn Lane, and complete my U-turn while on the southbound lane. I thought that crossing the central Two Way Left Turn Lane in this scenario is ok because the lane itself has broken lines inside the solid lines. However, a couple seconds later a cop on a motorcycle is behind me with his lights on and pulls me over. I pull over to the curb to my right and park. He said I made an illegal turn. I said I thought it was ok what I did because the lane in the middle of the road had broken lines. He said, yes, that was ok, but I did not use the middle lane.
I still did not get why I was at fault at that point. In my mind I was thinking there was no need to stay in the middle lane at the time as there was no traffic to yield from either southbound or northbound lanes. Did he mean I should have completed my U-Turn on the center Two Way Left Turn Lane First first and then proceeded to the southbound lane or did he mean I should have made my way to the Two Way Left Turn Lane first while facing northbound still then proceed to execute a U-turn from there? I tried to ask him questions but he said he couldn't spend time explaining and that he had a whole bunch of other complaints to deal with. "WTF?!" I was merely asking to clarify about the violation he is accusing me for.
Anyways, he proceeds to write me a ticket for VC 21460.5 (c) and wrote down next to the code, "U-turn from curb failing to use center most lane." I look up the vehicle code later in the day and it states:
"(c) A vehicle shall not be driven in a designated two-way left-turn lane except when preparing for or making a left turn from or into a highway or when preparing for or making a U-turn when otherwise permitted by law, and shall not be driven in that lane for more than 200 feet while preparing for and making the turn or while preparing to merge into the adjacent lanes of travel. A left turn or U-turn shall not be made from any other lane where a two-way left-turn lane has been designated."
Where here does it mention the requirement to use the center most lane? Am I reading something incorrectly?
Furthermore section (d) states:
"(d) This section does not prohibit driving across a two-way left-turn lane."
After reading this I still don't see how I am guilty. Can someone please help clarify? If I am guilty, I'm ok with it. I'll take the point on my record and pay the fee. I just want to understand why I am at fault to justify this ticket. However, If I do have a case against this ticket please let me know and I will proceed to take it to court, something that I have never done in my life.
Traffic Lane Violations: Ticket for Making an Improper U-Turn From the Curb, VC 21460.5
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