The Corpus Christi Police Department has a campaign called “First Friday Fun Fact” that will focus on different Texas traffic laws. It will run on the first Friday of each month. Here is this month’s traffic fact.
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| Turning from and into the correct lane
Imagine you are on a street approaching an intersection and there are four lanes to the right of the center marked like the illustration above. I have seen people turn left from lane B and/or turn right from lane C. The law only allows you to turn left from the far left lane or to turn right from the far right lane; when there are dedicated turn lanes, such as in the example above, those lanes fulfill those roles. So if you’re in lanes B or C above, you are only permitted to go straight. If lanes A and D did not exist in the example above, then you could turn left or go straight from lane B or turn right or go straight from lane C.
In Texas, when turning right, you are required to turn both from the right lane and into the right lane unless there is an obvious safety reason not to. When turning left, however, you are permitted to turn into any lane designated for traffic headed in that direction and it is recommended that you pick the lane that interferes least with other traffic. The exception is if you’re turning left from a one-way street onto another one-way street; in that case, you must turn into the left lane. Also, if you are turning from one of two lanes designated for the same turn movement (i.e. dual turn lanes like at S.P.I.D. and S. Staples Street), then you must turn into the appropriate lane as indicated by signs and/or pavement markings. |
- 545.101 – TURNING AT INTERSECTION
(a) To make a right turn at an intersection, an operator shall make both the approach and the turn as closely as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
(b) To make a left turn at an intersection, an operator shall:
(1) approach the intersection in the extreme left-hand lane lawfully available to a vehicle moving in the direction of the vehicle; and
(2) after entering the intersection, turn left, leaving the intersection so as to arrive in a lane lawfully available to traffic moving in the direction of the vehicle on the roadway being entered.
(c) On a street or roadway designated for two-way traffic, the operator turning left shall, to the extent practicable, turn in the portion of the intersection to the left of the center of the intersection.
(d) To turn left, an operator who is approaching an intersection having a roadway designated for one-way traffic and for which signs are posted from a roadway designated for one-way traffic and for which signs are posted shall make the turn as closely as practicable to the left-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
(e) The Texas Transportation Commission or a local authority, with respect to a highway in its jurisdiction, may:
(1) authorize the placement of an official traffic-control device in or adjacent to an intersection; and
(2) require a course different from that specified in this section for movement by vehicles turning at an intersection.
http://www.texashighwayman.com/laws.shtml
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