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Comment by Aloisius | Hacker News Reader

I have actually gotten a ticket for this near Mendocino. From the DMV handbook:

> If you are turning left, make the turn only if you have enough space to complete the turn before creating a hazard for any oncoming vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian. Do not enter the intersection if you cannot get completely across before the light turns red. If you block the intersection, you can be cited.

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I would think this rule (law?) applies more to prevent gridlock... If you don't have enough room to actually be on the other side of the intersection after you've finished the turn, you shouldn't start it.

What happened, exactly? I'm guessing you entered the intersection when the lane you wanted to turn into was backed up, so you would not have been able to clear the intersection even in the absence of oncoming traffic. Is that right?

I think your reading is correct.

I haven't lived in a lot of states but they've always said "one car can enter the intersection and wait to turn left." Implicit is the assumption that they have some place to be when the opposing traffic clears.

Actually it was non-stop oncoming traffic. The last person entered the intersection on a deep yellow. By the time they cleared my car, I was in a red in the middle of the intersection (as were they, but I got the ticket).

Assuming you were the lead car in the left-turn lane, I think the officer erred in citing you. The law can't require you to predict when other people are going to act illegally so you can plan accordingly.

It also doesn't make sense that not even one car per cycle is allowed to turn left across such a traffic flow. You could have sat there for hours following that advice.

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