Right turn from second right turn lane into far left?!?!?!?

Question

I am going to court tomorrow. There is a two lane road that dead ends into a main road. There is a stop sign and both lanes must turn right. The street we are turning onto has three lanes. I was in the outside turn lane and turned into the farthest lane (3rd lane) I got a ticket for it. I can't find any law that clearly goes for or against this!

I'm in California

Please help. Thanks.

Answer 1

Hmmm, you may be stuck.

From the California Driver Handbook:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/pgs25thr...

"2. Right turn. Begin and end the turn in the lane nearest the right hand curb. Do not swing wide into another lane of traffic. Watch for bicyclists between your vehicle and the curb. Sometimes, signs or pavement markings will let you turn right from another lane"

BUT, that being said, a bit further down it says this:

"6. Right turn from a one-way street into a one-way street. Start the turn in the far right lane. If safe, you may end the turn in any lane. Sometimes, signs or pavement markings will let you turn right from another lane (shown by *) "

Right there, it says "You may end the turn in ANY lane." If going from a 2-lane to a 3-lane (and the picture supports this), you can (according to the Driver's Handbook), turn into the far left lane.

Print out this page and take it to court with you.

Also found this about the turning onto a highway (aka street) http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc2...

It doesn't specifically state you MUST turn into the nearest right hand lane.

Since there doesn't appear to be a specific code governing your situation, I would simply challenge the ticketing police officer to cite which code, exactly, you are in violation of. Because, based on the Driver's handbook, you can easily argue that you were following the rules set out in the handbook.

Answer 2

If you are turning onto a road that only goes in one direction(right), and you are on a road that has two lanes for turning, and you are in the left of the 2 lanes, you should turn into the middle lane of the 3 lane highway.

Answer 3

You should not have gotten a ticket for this.  It clearly states in the California driver handbook that what you did was perfectly legal:

"Start the turn in the far right lane. If safe, you may end the turn in any lane. Sometimes, signs or pavement markings will let you turn right from another lane (shown by *)"  This is about halfway down the page under #6.  There are various other scenarios as well, but this one fits yours best.

Answer 4

What you did could be considered illegal by the police office because you did not stay in your lane but at the same time I would be ready to challenge the ticket but also be ready to let the judge try and explain it to you and you should be okay.................