The scene of the crime
I am loving the debate about my alleged traffic violation. I’ve been picked up by UniversalHub and even “the papers.” Most blog posters seem to think I’m in the wrong, but I think the law is clearly on my side when it comes to making a left turn across a double solid yellow line. The Massachusetts RMV drivers manual, chapter 4, says:
Double Yellow Lines: Both Solid
Two solid yellow lines prohibit vehicles moving in either direction from crossing the lines to pass another vehicle. You may not cross these lines unless turning left when it is safe to do so.
[Caption to illustration:] Do not cross a double yellow line unless turning left.
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 14 – the code I allegedly violated – has this and only this to say on the subject of left turns:
When approaching for a left turn on a two-way street, an operator shall do so in the lane of traffic to the right of and nearest to the center line of the roadway and the left turn shall be made by passing to the right of the center line of the entering way where it enters the intersection from his left. When turning to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road or driveway an operator shall yield the right of way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction, including a bicycle on the right of the other approaching vehicles, which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard. It shall not be a defense for a motorist causing an accident with a bicycle that the bicycle was to the right of vehicular traffic. When approaching for a left turn on a one-way street, an operator shall do so in the lane of traffic nearest to the left-hand side of the roadway and as close as practicable to the left-hand curb or edge of roadway.
As I see it, the only way I can be said to have violated the law is under one of the following conditions:
- The turn I made was a U-turn rather than a left turn, and U-turns are never permitted across double solid yellow lines.
- The presence of the traffic island partly blocking the entrance to the driveway is by itself clear evidence that left turns and/or U-turns into the driveway are prohibited.
It is my contention that:
- The turn was not a U-turn because by the time I started turning in a direction back toward my pre-turn position, I was already in the driveway. In other words, I made a left turn into the entrance of the driveway, then I bore further left after entering the driveway, and then followed the driveway around to the right.
- Even if the turn was a U-turn, there is no absolute prohibition against U-turns that cross double solid yellow lines.
- The traffic island’s purpose is to prevent cars that are leaving the driveway from turning left onto Arsenal Street, not to prevent cars Arsenal Street to enter the driveway when it is safe to do so. If left turns into the driveway are prohibited, there should be a “No Left Turn” sign either on Arsenal Street or on the traffic island itself.
- Because all oncoming traffic was stopped at a light in front of me and I had a clear view of any potential obstacles, there was nothing inherently unsafe about the turn I made.
Here are some additional photos with close-ups of the traffic island:
(note how easily a car turning left can enter the driveway, and the absence of signage on the traffic island)
(a closer view of the driveway entrance)
(if no left turns are permitted, it could and should say so right here)
Some have pointed out that I could have made a left turn into the same parking log another half-block ahead, where there is a traffic light. True enough. But by that reasoning, virtually every U-turn should be prohibited and drivers should always proceed to the next intersection and make a series of left and right turns in order to change direction.
I’ll admit to being impatient, but I won’t admit to being unsafe or to violating the law.
Comments
Comment from david
Time July 14, 2009 at 4:08 pm
And I’ll say this, Billy: I agree with you that this intersection is not designed to INVITE left turns into the parking lot. And if the cop had given me a written warning and said “don’t do that again,” I would have thanked him and left it at that. But I don’t think what I did should cost me hundreds if not thousands of dollars in higher premiums over the next several years, and that’s why I plan to continue my appeal.
Comment from Ray
Time July 14, 2009 at 6:30 pm
The photos make it very clear that you could not take that left turn safely. You can’t just turn left because the island is clearly blocking that move. You weren’t operating your vehicle safely. That you can snake around the traffic island is immaterial. It blocks a left turn. That means it is not safe to make the left turn. You could not make a turn to the right of the center line of the intersecting roadway, because you were physically blocked from doing so. That would seem to be how you violated that statute. Because of the traffic island, your “turn” could not meet the prescribed standards for a left turn.
Comment from david
Time July 14, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Fine. If it wasn’t a left turn (which I still say it was), then it must have been a U-turn, right? Here’s what the RMV says about U-turns (also taken from chapter 4, hyperlinked above):
“A U-turn is a tight left turn that puts you in the opposite direction in which you were just traveling.
Unless a NO U-TURN sign is posted, you are allowed to make a U-turn as long as your path is clear and it is safe to do so.
• You may only make a U-turn from the lane closest to the center line.
• Make sure you have enough room to complete the turn. Do not create a hazard for oncoming vehicles.
• Do not attempt a U-turn at the crest of a hill, near a curve, or at any other point at which you or other drivers cannot see from 500 feet away.”
There is nothing as far as I can see about U-turns that cross double lines. And while you must make a U-turn FROM the lane closest to the center, the guide is silent as to what lane you should end up in. So I could legally have made a U-turn into the right-most lane on the opposite side of the street and then made a right turn into the parking lot.
I searched the Mass. General Laws for “u-turn” and “u turn” and got no results.
Comment from Mike
Time July 14, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I maintain that I believe what you did was a U-turn (or “J-turn”), not a left-turn, and was prohibited across a double-yellow line.
As such, I believe that you will win upon appeal. The officer wrote that you violated a particular law that says nothing about U-turns; he should have cited you for making an illegal U-turn, not an illegal left-turn. His mistake, albeit an honest one.
You win on a technicality, not because your action was legal. Such tickets get thrown out all the time. That is how you should argue the case before the appeals judge.
Comment from david
Time July 14, 2009 at 7:52 pm
But Mike, if the RMV says “unless a NO U-TURN sign is posted, you are allowed to make a U-turn as long as your path is clear and it is safe to do so,” then how could the U-turn be illegal? Where exactly is this prohibition against double-line-crossing U-turns?
Comment from Ray
Time July 15, 2009 at 12:09 am
Did I say you made a U-turn? No. Because that’s not what you did, nor should you have been cited as such. What you did was make an ILLEGAL left turn because you failed to meet that statutes’s requirement for a legal left turn. So you ended up snaking around a traffic island in something more closely resembling an S because you could not physically make the left turn required in MGL 90-13. That IS the proper statute, you DID fail to do as required, and your ticket SHOULD be upheld. What you’ve done is document that you broke the law. Your “evidence” doesn’t clear you. It affirms the officer’s ticket because it shows you operating your vehicle unsafely by failing to make a legal left-turn.
Comment from david
Time July 15, 2009 at 7:11 am
Ray: Suppose I HAD made a U-turn by proceeding a few yards past the point where I actually turned, and then turned so that by the time I passed the traffic island I was parallel to it rather than perpendicular. Would that have been an offense? If so, under what statute or guidance? And where in 90-13 (http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/90-13.htm) do you see anything relevant to this incident? You mean 90-14, right? And as I’ve noted above, nothing in that statute references traffic islands or general standards for making left and/or U-turns except to say that the right of way must be yielded to oncoming traffic — and there was no oncoming traffic when I made that turn (either in the original case or in the video). And if you think a U-turn would have been permissable in that circumstance, under what reasoning do you conclude that a U-turn is legal but a left turn is not?
Comment from MaraSmith
Time July 15, 2009 at 8:54 pm
You were wrong. Give it up. Happens to all of us.
Comment from steve g
Time July 20, 2009 at 11:05 pm
This is immensely entertaining. I’m behind you Dave! 
Comment from david
Time October 20, 2009 at 9:27 am
Postscript: My appeal was heard today before Judge Harvey. The Watertown PD did not send anyone to argue its side, and I was found not responsible. The only words I had to say were “I do” and “thank you.” Rather anticlimactic, but at least my premiums will stay low.
Comment from Billy
Time July 14, 2009 at 3:43 pm
i will just say this, if the island was only meant to block making a left out of the mall then it would be shaped as such and you could make a 90 degree turn, which you arent able to do because of the way it is shaped.