# Ever got a ticket for this driving infraction? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2012, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452 "2012-11-29T08:58:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/21 "2012-11-29T21:09:35Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > 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. Not really. I can and do go 3 MPH over the speed limit with a cop car right behind me and they don’t care (and my state isn’t one that legally gives you a 5 MPH leeway or something). Technically illegal; practically A-OK. I wasn’t really asking whether I was doing some horrible thing because I already know I’m not. I just wondered if there was a significant chance of getting a ticket for it. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/22 "2012-11-29T21:22:06Z")
It occurred to me. If its honestly clear/light enough traffic wise to do this this change lanes thing while turning left safely then its clear enough to wait until after you’ve made the turn. So why not just always do it the way thats generally safer in case its not as clear as you think it is or somebody surprises you? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/23 "2012-11-29T21:28:06Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > 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: When your left-turn light is green (and the go-straight light isn’t) it’s very likely the oncoming left-turn light is also green. Traffic from your right may also have a green right-turn arrow. I don’t think you were cutting off the cars next to you, but you may have been in the way of the cars coming at you. And I believe the idea is that you not pull an illegal move whether there’s a cop right behind you or not. > [@Johanna](#): > > How it is where I live: > [Virginia Code §46.2-846](http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+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.” I still haven’t seen you answer whether you’re turning right on a red light or not. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/24 "2012-11-29T21:48:28Z")
I’ve always considered this to fall under three categories: 1.) Cop is really bored and just wants something to do. 2.) You look suspicious but cops can’t pull you over for ‘looking’ suspicious. 3.) Cop pulls you over for something else. During the process you were an asshole to the cop so he throws in the extra violation. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/25 "2012-11-29T21:48:36Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > 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 more than one lane can legally turn left, then the rules are dramatically different (as the driver handbook link illustrates). But if only one lane can make a left turn, it’s not an issue. Obviously, opinions differ on this since it’s legal in some states but not in others. But my perspective as a driver in California is that it does not cause problems in practice - and, yes, I regularly take advantage of the fact that I can legally complete a left turn (when I’m in the only left-turning lane) into any lane. It is unquestionably legal in this state, and in my opinion it is also perfectly safe. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/26 "2012-11-29T23:00:15Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I described how it is where I live. Where did you describe this? Oh, right, later on: > [@Johanna](#): > > How it is where I live: > [Virginia Code §46.2-846](http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-846) > > > [@](#): > > > > 1. […] Whenever practicable, the left turn shall be made to the left of the center of the intersection. > > 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.” Part 2 does not mean what you claim. It means when an oncoming car makes a simultaneous left turn, both cars should pass to the left of the other, as opposed to passing to the right. It says nothing about a left turn not being allowed to turn into the right hand lane. Reading your whole link, turning left into the right hand lane is not prohibited. If you’re turning right on red when people are honking at you, I don’t blame them. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/27 "2012-11-29T23:48:06Z")
To answer the OP, I have often made a right turn into the middle lane of the street I’ve turned onto (or, in some extreme cases, all the way into the leftmost lane), and, to date, I’ve never been ticketed. I’m in California, if that’s relevant to you. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/28 "2012-11-30T00:30:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > 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 sad thing is I read the whole thread and I _still_ can’t figure out what people think the OP is talking about doing. Me, I clearly have no idea because I can’t picture what anyone is describing…mostly sounds like people are just switching lanes rather than turning. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/29 "2012-11-30T00:35:00Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > 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. You mean you are going into the opposing lane of travel? Going the wrong way down the street? But it’s ok because you made a snap judgement that you can do it safely. It falls under the “Driving Like an Asshole” statute. Yes you can get a ticket for it. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/30 "2012-11-30T00:36:33Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The sad thing is I read the whole thread and I _still_ can’t figure out what people think the OP is talking about doing. Me, I clearly have no idea because I can’t picture what anyone is describing…mostly sounds like people are just switching lanes rather than turning. Okay, say you’re in the rightmost lane, turning right. You’re supposed to turn from the rightmost lane TO the rightmost lane on the other street, right? But instead you go straight to the left lane on the street you’re turning onto. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/31 "2012-11-30T00:45:01Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Okay, say you’re in the rightmost lane, turning right. You’re supposed to turn from the rightmost lane TO the rightmost lane on the other street, right? But instead you go straight to the left lane on the street you’re turning onto. I’m going to try to help, in case people still don’t understand. I think your use of the word “straight” instead of “directly” or “immediately” might be throwing people off. Maybe. I’m not sure. I’m fairly certain I understand you. Say you’re making a right turn onto a road that has three lanes of traffic in your new direction of travel. Instead of finishing your turn by ending up in the right-most lane, you are finishing your turn by ending up in the middle lane or the left lane of the street you’ve turned on to. Technically, it’s illegal to do so (at least in the jurisdictions that have been discussed thus far, I think). But **Blackberry** is trying to figure out if anyone has been pulled over for what is (barring causing an accident in the process) a very minor infraction. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/32 "2012-11-30T00:54:10Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I’m going to try to help, in case people still don’t understand. I think your use of the word “straight” instead of “directly” or “immediately” might be throwing people off. Maybe. I’m not sure. I’m fairly certain I understand you. > > Say you’re making a right turn onto a road that has three lanes of traffic in your new direction of travel. Instead of finishing your turn by ending up in the right-most lane, you are finishing your turn by ending up in the middle lane or the left lane of the street you’ve turned on to. Technically, it’s illegal to do so (at least in the jurisdictions that have been discussed thus far, I think). But **Blackberry** is trying to figure out if anyone has been pulled over for what is (barring causing an accident in the process) a very minor infraction. Aha! I bet that is the issue. Change all my 'straight’s to 'directly’s. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/33 "2012-11-30T00:55:50Z")
Right turn … 3 …2 …1 … … … 3 2 1 Left turn 3 2 1 … … …1 2 3 numbers are lanes. In a proper safe world imo 1 goes to 1 , 2 goes to 2 , and 3 goes to 3. If the number you are turning into is greater than the number you are turning from the same rule still applies and you change lanes AFTER you make the turn. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/34 "2012-11-30T01:29:57Z")
I do this pretty regularly. There are a couple of spots on my commute where I have to make a right turn onto a multi-lane road at a stoplight and then an immediate left after that at the very next intersection. Traffic is always very heavy, and if you don’t take the opportunity when making a right turn on green to swing across all 3 lanes and get into the far left lane, you may never get there. The last time I did it all nice and proper, nobody would let me over to the left and the resulting forced detour added 10 minutes to the drive. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/35 "2012-11-30T01:33:42Z")
Well, if you “have to”…well you “have to” and youse takes your chances. But IMO, if you don’t have to but just want to then thats not an optimum solution. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/36 "2012-11-30T01:40:21Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I’m going to try to help, in case people still don’t understand. I think your use of the word “straight” instead of “directly” or “immediately” might be throwing people off. Maybe. I’m not sure. I’m fairly certain I understand you. > > Say you’re making a right turn onto a road that has three lanes of traffic in your new direction of travel. Instead of finishing your turn by ending up in the right-most lane, you are finishing your turn by ending up in the middle lane or the left lane of the street you’ve turned on to. Technically, it’s illegal to do so (at least in the jurisdictions that have been discussed thus far, I think). But **Blackberry** is trying to figure out if anyone has been pulled over for what is (barring causing an accident in the process) a very minor infraction. Ok that is clearer. Yes it is illegal. Getting pulled over for it? It depends. I would have to see the actual road and the maneuver. On certain intersections I would pull someone over on others I wouldn’t even think about it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/37 "2012-11-30T01:41:23Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The sad thing is I read the whole thread and I _still_ can’t figure out what people think the OP is talking about doing. Me, I clearly have no idea because I can’t picture what anyone is describing…mostly sounds like people are just switching lanes rather than turning. It isn’t complicated. The OP is talking about turning from left turning lane onto another street, without first going into the leftmost lane. Maybe[this image](http://imgh.us/sdmb-left-turn-illustration.png) will help. The blue dotted line illustrated the “correct” way to do it. The orange dotted line illustrates what the OP is wondering about: does anyone actually get a ticket for driving that way? BTW, the [original](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/imageserver/dmv/images/dlhdbk/29a.gif) of that image says that both are acceptable in California. ([context](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/turns.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/38 "2012-11-30T01:55:33Z")
Here’s the thing, if you make a habit of doing a illegal thing, sooner or later you’re going to get caught. You’ve stacked the deck against yourself by taking the chance again and again. Just consider it like a tax. Whatever the amount is, divided by the number of times you’ve done this. Seems pretty cheap now, right? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/39 "2012-11-30T01:58:51Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Okay, say you’re in the rightmost lane, turning right. You’re supposed to turn from the rightmost lane TO the rightmost lane on the other street, right? But instead you go straight to the left lane on the street you’re turning onto. As soon as someone from England posts to this thread, we’re doomed. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452/40 "2012-11-30T02:00:23Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Just consider it like a tax. Whatever the amount is, divided by the number of times you’ve done this. > Seems pretty cheap now, right? You underestimate both how poor I am and how high fines are in my state. 🆒 > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > As soon as someone from England posts to this thread, we’re doomed. Well yeah, but that’s a general rule of thumb that applies to all threads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-got-a-ticket-for-this-driving-infraction/642452.md?page=3)