What exactly constitutes a U-turn in California?

Question

The definition I found is:

665.5. A "U-turn" is the turning of a vehicle upon a highway so as to proceed in the opposite direction whether accomplished by one continuous movement or not.

I got a ticket for making a u-turn in a posted no u-turn zone. The actual circumstances were I went to the end of a street that ended with a cross street going perpendicular to it. I pulled into an extra lane to drop my family off at Venice Beach. Before they got out I backed up a car length or so to get away from other traffic coming down the street I came off of. Once they got out I signaled and merged with the traffic coming from the cross street. I then drove forward a bit and made a left turn after signaling. A half block up the street was an officer standing in the street pulling cars over for illegal u-turns. It would seem to me that stopping and dropping people off and reentering traffic and turning is different that turning back up the street you came down. I need good advice on whether I can defend myself to avoid the $160 ticket. My basis for this would be that my actions did not constitute a u-turn. Any other approaches to fighting the ticket would also be appreciated. Since I live out of state I will be doing this by writing rather than in person. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Just pay the 160... you know? going against traffic is also a big deal, you know that what you did is wrong so stop being that sneaky and pay the 160 is not that much!

Answer 2

Your re entry to traffic was wrong. You backed into on coming traffic.

The U turn was done by your re entry to the location of the U turn to be finished?

Answer 3

Gee,  sign said NO U TURN,  you made a U_TURN and you are surprised and upset you got a ticket.

What you did is a U TURN.

Geeeeez

Pay the man and obey traffic sigs.

Answer 4

Did you ever leave the road in that process?  Note that the law appears to say that it doesn't matter if it was a continuous movement or not. As long as you reversed direction on a road without leaving the road, it's a U-turn.  Even if you did it on a different road, it's still a road.

Unless you pulled off the road (into a driveway or parking lot, etc.) and then pulled out to go the other way, I bet it will be a u-turn unfortunately.

Here's the picture I get:

You're driving up road A and you reach the end of road A and turned onto road B and into the right right lane. You backed up so that the intersection of road A and B is ahead of you. You dropped off your family.  You merged back into the left lane and went ahead to then turn left onto road A and head back in the opposite direction you came from.

Silly or note, that meets the definition you found of a U-turn since you never left the road. You changed roads, but you never left the road.

I'd suggest comparing California's U-turn law to your own states.  If what you did is definitely legal in your own state, I'd write a letter of apology stating that you didn't realize that the California law is different than what you are used to. Include $80 and ask if that would be a fair reduction in fine given the circumstances.

That's of course assuming you aren't able to find proof that you definitely did not make an illegal u-turn.

Answer 5

You need to make yourself clear one more time.  So far I got that you did not make a U-turn on road A, you did make a U-turn on road B, there is no posted no U-turn sign on road B, there is a posted no U-turn sign on road A.  Or did I get that all backwards?

AD:  You have described what is essentially a three-point U-turn.  (Turned left, stopped, backed up in reverse, stopped, turned left again.)  If that is not what you intended to convey then perhaps you should make "a visual of the setting:" http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...