Left hand turn lane...

[ltljohn]

I think it is illegal and dang near impossible to make a left turn in Tyler.

[Guardian Reaper]

It is a violation to use it to merge or as an acceleration lane.

[super_dave]

my dad was ticketed for traveling in the turn lane. He was trying to merge into traffic. Officer said that he traveled more than 100 feet which was illegal

I wonder if that applies when it is divided, or when it is shared? Interesting

[super_dave]

I think it is illegal and dang near impossible to make a left turn in Tyler.

Boy, that's the truth.

[bigdaddy590]

We call the left turn lane the "chicken lane". If you aren't brave enough to just blast across all the lanes when entering traffic from a left turn, you can chicken out and ride the left turn lane while merging right. Around here, everyone does it. Beware. heh

We call it the suicide lane

[tvc184]

my dad was ticketed for traveling in the turn lane. He was trying to merge into traffic. Officer said that he traveled more than 100 feet which was illegal

Oh yeah, the 100 foot in a turn only lane rule.

Huh?

[tvc184]

to the best of my memory a tricky one,, yes it is illegal because the turning laws are spelled out when you enter a street,, and since the turn only lane is designated for that sole purpose and not for accleration or merging lane,, it is illegal to do so,, but also by texas law it must be written as illegal to do something before it is a violation,, and i can not recall either if it is actually written as being illegal to use the turn lane in such a manor,,,
but for those intrested,, if your involved in a wreck in a turn lane and you were not turning or waiting to turn, you will very likely get a ticket, unless of course there is ample proof that the other party actually committed another violation that the officer would prefer to write................ like i said it was a tricky one.... having said all that the only citations i ever remember writting specifically for turn lane violations were for going stright in a turn only lane,, almost all of these were at intersection though,, unless of course the driver was using the turn lane to pass other cars to get to the intersection a half mile ahead,, also charged with straight in a turn only lane

Therein lies the problem. It is not against the law unless there is a written law that states the violation.

[tvc184]

Found this tidbit interesting on the Texas Highway Man Pages site. Looks like Federal guidelines permit it but Texas law doesn't specifically address it...

That is my point. I cannot find any law where Texas addresses the issue. If officers are issuing citations for it, they need to be able to back it up with a law.

I have yet to find a law backing up any citation or arrest for driving in that lane. If someone can find it, please post the section.

[tsu1998]

It's because people have no patience these days.

I was sitting at a green light waiting to turn left on green today. They guy in front of me pulled halfway up to turn with me sitting at the line. Lady behind me starts laying on the horn for not riding the dude in front of me on the rear, and even more so when he finally turned and I waited for a clear view of oncoming traffic.

That's just San Marcos drivers for you! LOL! RR12 and Craddock is the worst intersection right now. I've seen atleast 4 wrecks and 2 of them were rollovers. Multiple people shoot across and try to turn left onto to 12 and it doesn't work.

[Cam-Mac]

I've noticed it more and more lately. Had a collision in Lubbock because a stupid high school girl did that while I was about to turn. It's stupid and dangerous for everyone else. If it is "difficult" to turn left, or go across two lanes to go the direction of travel, those people need to go "right" first and then use the turning lane to turn into a parking lot or something where they can turn around to go the other way. That would be safest. But until they get their *** ran over people don't use their brains.