TexasCHLforum.com

jester wrote:

dicion wrote:According to Texas law, there are only 3 circumstances in which you can enter a center lane.
1) To pass (But only if you aren't crossing a solid yellow line to do so, that would be a violation of the sections above (and yes, there are center lanes out there with dashed lines on both sides)).
2) To turn left
3) As directed by signs/cones/etc for traffic control.

Merging right, accelerating, pulling out to stop and wait for an opening, etc is nowhere mentioned in there, so it is not permitted

What if you're waiting for an opening to turn left?

What if you're waiting for an opening to turn left from a side street or driveway?

Okay. here's a diagram



A&B Are Allowed, C&D Are not. I tried to illustrate why I believed this was the case, but regardless, this is the law.

Here's what I think the reasoning was behind the law. This is pure conjecture on my part.

A is allowed because any other cars (the green arrow) Should see your turn signal before you actually enter the lane, therefore not pulling into the lane at the same time, theoretically preventing any accidents.

B is allowed because you are simply crossing the middle lane, never 'occupying' it. You are also long gone out of the middle lane area before any other car can even come close to hitting you.

C is NOT allowed because, well, you're DRIVING/Accelerating in the middle lane. Anyone who wants to turn left from the green arrow's point of view will either hit you, or you would hit them if they tried to turn left, etc.

D (pulling out and stopping) is NOT allowed because any other vehicles (green arrow) wanting to turn left will not be expecting you to pull out and stop in front of them from their right, also, you will not be able to see their turn signal from your perspective before you pull out in front of their potential left turn. It's a right of way issue. You, as a vehicle coming in from a side street have to yield ROW to any vehicle already on the main street, whether they're driving straight, or making turns. By pulling in front of them and stopping, which you would be doing if they were planning on going left, you are violating their right of way.

How do I know so much about this you ask? Because I'm currently involved in a court case (going on 18 months now) that resulted from an accident where this exact section of law comes into play. Not going to go into details, but I've researched this very much, and talked with my lawyer and a few other lawyers on this as well. This is the law, plain and simple. A lot of police officers don't even know this, as it's a fairly mundane thing, until it causes an accident.

AFCop wrote: I find it funny I can enter that lane to pass somone (as long as its clear) but I cant turn into that lane to merge into proper lane.... both require similar processes (clearing lane and mergng into proper lane) but one is obviously not allowed. Which is what I thought was interesting.

Not really, if you consider on 2 lane roads, you are allowed to enter the other lane (the one going the opposite direction) to pass as well.
I'm pretty sure you can't, however, pull out into that lane to merge right either.

In my opinion, the thought is, people going the opposite direction, wanting to use that center lane to turn left, would see someone with their blinker on coming directly at them to pass (since you are required by law to signal every lane change and pass), or turn left from the center lane.

They might not see the person to their Right, waiting to pull out of the parking lot, directly in front of them in the center lane when they attempt to turn.

AFCop wrote: As for center lane travel, what do you think about this:
Sec. 545.060. DRIVING ON ROADWAY LANED FOR TRAFFIC. (a) An operator on a roadway divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic:
(b) If a roadway is divided into three lanes and provides for two-way movement of traffic, an operator on the roadway may not drive in the center lane except:
(1) if passing another vehicle and the center lane is clear of traffic within a safe distance;
(2) in preparing to make a left turn; or
(3) where the center lane is designated by an official traffic-control device for movement in the direction in which the operator is moving.

That's what I was referring to.
According to Texas law, there are only 3 circumstances in which you can enter a center lane.
1) To pass (But only if you aren't crossing a solid yellow line to do so, that would be a violation of the sections above (and yes, there are center lanes out there with dashed lines on both sides)).
2) To turn left
3) As directed by signs/cones/etc for traffic control.

Merging right, accelerating, pulling out to stop and wait for an opening, etc is nowhere mentioned in there, so it is not permitted
As mentioned above, this is specifically mentioned in the Defensive Driving Classes given, and it is enforced, lots of people get tickets for this all the time.

surprise_i'm_armed wrote:dicion:
Wow, I didn't know that was illegal. I always thought you
could go the center turn lane as long as you could get to it
safely (one direction of traffic allowed you to reach it).

Nope. The majority of other states in the US allow it. Texas isn't one of them, but that's where that belief and habit comes from ;)

Look through section 545 of the Texas Transportation Code.
It's got all sorts of fun little Gotchas that most people don't know about.

Don't know about this one specifically, but my favorite is 545.060(b), which basically says you can't pull into a Center lane on a road from a side street/driveway to merge into traffic to the right.
I see people doing it alllll day every day ;)