Subject: legal meaning of lane markers in intersections?

From: [email-masked] (Marc Pawliger)
Date: Fri, 28 Jul 1995 22:22:49 GMT

I had always believed that when there are "lane bumps" in the middle of an
intersection, usually demarcating left turns lanes when there are more
than one, it was illegal to cross them.  However the CVC says nothing
about this save section 22100 about "After entering the intersection, the
left turn shall be made so as to leave the intersection in a lane lawfully
available to traffic moving in that direction upon the roadway being
entered..."

Every morning I turn from Monroe (2 lanes each way with two left turn
lanes) onto San Tomas (three lanes each way with single left turn lanes).
There are "lane bumps" for the two left turn lanes onto San Tomas, yet
almost every time I find myself in the "outside" lane (the one that would
correspond to lane #2 after the turn, I find drivers in the inside lane
expecting me to turn wide so they can end up in the #2 lane.  Of course
they have to cross the markers to do so.  I don't swing wide since the
drivers making the left turn from Monroe the other way onto San Tomas the
other way are very close even when staying in lane and if both outside
drivers swung wide they would collide.

What's the scoop?

--marc

Marc Pawliger                                 (415) 962-4918
Adobe Systems        [email-masked]         Mt. View, CA
       Silicon Valley farewell: "email me, we'll blade."