Do people ever get pulled over/ticketed, under normal circumstances, for turning into the wrong lane? Like you’re turning left and don’t go into the leftmost lane. Because I and everyone else in the world do that constantly when it’s clearly safe to do it, but I live on a road infested with popo and I’m not sure if I need to stop.
Have you or your associates ever gotten ticketed for this?
If there is an accident, the cop can pin the blame on you for your banana turn, regardless of who was actually at fault. That said, it’s often best to avoid turning like that simply because you never know when a pedestrian or biker will decide its time to walk into the intersection, or when a driver coming towards you will take a right-hand turn without stopping (or even slowing!) at a red light. And yes, I do live in a college town full of idiots, and no, I’m not bitter at all. Not. At. All.
i’ve gotten pulled over for going straight with my left turn signal on through an intersection into a parking lot. this was around midnight and there were no cars on the road. i didn’t get a ticket for that infraction, but i was given a ticket for driving under a suspended license. i was a teenager then.
You mean you are turning left from the right or middle lane? And/or turning from the straight lane and not the left turn lane? No I have never done it or be ticketed for it. I have, however, written tickets for those offenses.
The original question is worded ambiguously, but I’ll make a go. I don’t THINK the OP was talking about turning left from the center or right lane, because that is obviously illegal and not a common activity. I think he’s talking about turning left from the correct left-turn lane, and ending up in a lane other than the leftmost.
So. If you’re making a left turn from a single left-turn lane onto a road with 2 or more lanes to end up in, you can choose to end up in either/any of them. The only time you HAVE to end up in the left lane after turning left is if there are multiple left-turning lanes and you’re in the leftmost one. In these cases, there should be clearly-marked lane lines on the road, and no confusion.
To follow-up on JDthDJ’s comment, a driver turning right on red who tries to go without waiting for oncoming left-turners is failing to yield right of way, and would be at-fault for causing any accident that occurs as a result. However, you may be dinged for contributory negligence, IF you see him turning and fail to avoid the accident. Even though he’s the one breaking the law, you still have a duty to avoid a collision if it’s preventable (by braking, by turning into the leftmost lane, etc).
Yes. I was in a left turn lane and, at the last minute, I decided to go straight instead. The left turn lanes had the green light, but the go-straight lanes did not, so I wasn’t cutting anyone off. I just annoyed the COP who was driving right behind me. Duh. You’d think I’d notice there was a cop right behind me before I pulled an illegal move, but no. Apparently, I’m not that bright and my SDMB card will be revoked soon. :sad:
This may or may not be true, depending on where you live. It isn’t where I live. Unless otherwise marked, left turns are only allowed from the leftmost lane to the leftmost lane, and right turns from the rightmost lane to the rightmost lane. I don’t know how strongly it’s enforced.
Cite: http://kansasstatutes.lesterama.org/Chapter_8/Article_15/#8-1545
California’s laws on this appear to be kind of strange - see the California Driver Handbook. As best I can tell, right turns must be made into the right-most lane (except when turning onto a one-way street), but left turns may wind up in any lane. Bolding mine in the below excerpts from the linked page:
Obviously, if multiple lanes turn and/or there are markings stating something else this general provision can be overridden. The linked page has graphics to cover many situations, but not all.
That said, in response to the OP’s question, I see the right-turn-into-right-lane rule violated all the time in practice. No one I know has ever been cited for it, to my knowledge.
My daughter got a ticket for exactly that, here in NJ.
That’s something I’ve always been confused about. Where I live, it’s common to have two lanes turning left onto a road with three or more lanes. So are people in the far-left and far-right lanes supposed to be turning into the far-left and far-right lanes, leaving the center lane(s) free? Or is it just a “turn and hope you don’t collide with someone else” situation?
I’ve never seen any accidents, but I’ve seen some fairly close calls.
I’d be so pleased to hear if anyone got ticketed for this violation. They’d deserve it. 
I want to see this law enforced more. I’m sick and tired of all the violators on the road. There’s a real-world rationale and purpose to this law, and that is literal safety, to keep traffic safe. It’s in everybody’s interest.
The times when I’m making a right turn into the cross-street’s right lane, and some dickwad is making a simultaneous left turn into my right lane, and then has the outrageous chutzpah to blow the horn at me for operating legally and correctly—oooo I just wish a cop could be there to bust them for it. If dickwad could only be bothered to drive legally, then we could make simultaneous turns into adjacent lanes with no difficulties at all.
If you feel you can’t turn into the correct lane, then you’re taking the turn too damn fast. Slow down.
As seen above, depending on where you live and the circumstances (e.g. if you’re turning right on red), you could be the one in the wrong here.
I described how it is where I live. And if any place does allow that maneuver, I think that’s pretty messed up.
This.
And yes, the wrongheaded dickwad will curse at the person turning legally … because he/she is a dickwad.
There are several intersections around here with two or three left-turning lanes, and I’m constantly seeing people turn into the wrong lane. I can’t avoid using those intersections and I hate it, because I usually need to be in the rightmost lane, and invariably, some asshole in the leftmost lane just veers all the way over and cuts me off, along with the car in the turn lane between us, and the car that was turning right from the other direction (like Johanna). It’s terrifying, and it would make my goddamned day to see someone get ticketed for that.
In Virginia, if you are turning right on red and the oncoming traffic has a protected left turn, they have the right of way to go to either of the two lanes if there are no other lane control markings.
If you have a green light and are turning right and the oncoming traffic is turning left, you have the right of way to go to either of the two lanes if there are no other lane control markings.
How it is where I live:
Virginia Code §46.2-846
Note: Whenever practicable. That means assuming the lane isn’t blocked by road or utility equipment, a disabled vehicle, or some other such obstacle. It does not mean “whenever you f***ing feel like it” or “whenever you can’t be bothered to slow down enough to make a proper turn into the proper lane.”
It may be legal, but it certainly seems to me to be the less safe choice. I know how I’d choose to drive.
If you are leftmost end up in the leftmost lane. If you are second leftmost end up second leftmost and so on and so on. Otherwise you are basically changing lanes while simultaneously turning AND going through an intersection. Hell, around here, folks seem to have trouble just staying between the lines for turns like that (in intersections where they are marked). When you don’t know where the other person is supposed to end up or is going to end up because they have a choice? My mind boggles that such a thing is even allowed.
You guys, I did say when it’s clearly safe to do it. That’s all I’m talking about. You’re turning right and no one else is around and you have to make a left turn right away, so you just go straight into the left lane of the street you’re turning onto, for example. Technically a violation, because it would be unsafe in some conditions, but in many it is not the least bit unsafe. People do it constantly and I’d never heard of someone getting a ticket for it so I thought maybe it was okay.
Thing about traffic laws is you don’t get to decide when a given law applies to you or not. It applies all the time. Horrible! I know, right? But that’s just how it is.