Well today i was coming back from the honda dealership in cerritos from getting an oil change.. i hopped onto the 91 east and there was some light traffic... i was trying to merge into the next lane over but couldn't because of the traffic so a little more down the road near the exit lane that i was on i finally merged in.. the lines were still dotted lines and wasn't a solid white yet... i turned my signal on and everything.. cop pulls me over and says hes giving me a ticket for not OBSERVING THE SIGN that said right turn only lane... saying that you can't change lanes from that lane.. is that a legit ticket???

 

Wow, cop must have been having a day.

Isn't the point of a "right turn only" sign to get those turning right into that lane, and those not turning right out of it?

And it wasnt even a solid line? Man, I am never moving to California. All I ever hear is horror stories about cars, vandalism/theft, police, etc.

 

Appear for the court date.. my bet is that the cop does not show, you tell your story and the judge throws it out. That's pretty much how it works around here anyways.

 

Good luck!

 

I always understood the difference between solid white and solid yellow lines as white was STRONGLY suggested whereas yellow is DON'T EVEN think about it!! But if the line was still broken, it's to allow for people to make necessary lane changes PRIOR to the solid (whatever the color).

Just my $.02

 

Tell it to the judge. In Cali, you'll get the ticket dropped for sure and have a good chance at a large settlement to boot.

 

Definitely go to trial - and have a strategy. PM me if you like. Otherwise, I recommend attorney David Brown's very excellent book "Fight Your Ticket," (Nolo Press). Every California driver who can read should have one of Brown's guides.

 

 

Easy one to fight.

 

In Austin, we have entrance/exit lanes on some of our freeways. These are a "lane" where the on-ramp goes to and the off ramp comes from. Tightly spaced dashed lines separate this from the freeway.

Everytime I drive one of these sections during rush hour, you always see several cars either exiting or coming onto the freeway, then at the last possible moment, merging back in. Obviously they are trying to avoid as much traffic as possible. This behavior bugs the snot out of many people including myself. For some reason, some people simply refuse to slow down, and when they can't get in, they'll drive further along rather than waiting for a gap. To the people in the lane, it looks like they're cutting ahead and are "too good" to wait like the rest of them.

I'm guessing the cop thought you were doing that and decided to make you pay for it. Whether they have a case is up to the courts to decide.

That's not the worst behavior you see around here, apparently the only time many Texans use their signals is to indicate they plan to turn right a mile up the road, and use the shoulder as an "extended' right turn lane. The best part about it is these are the same shoulders that bicycles use regularly (Lots of bicycles in Austin, including Lance Armstrong). I shudder to think of how many bikers are killed per year so that some a****le can avoid half a mile of waiting.