Here’s a question from a Road Warrior reader:

In December, I was driving east on Maple and was making a right hand turn on to South E Street in Santa Rosa.  The light for me was red, and there were two cars entering the intersection heading north.  I stopped before the crosswalk … I don’t know if you are aware that Maple has a separate right lane that turns into an extra lane that merges into South E Street.  I had a driver honk at me from behind as I waited for the two cars to pass and South E Street to clear before I proceeded after my stop.  I stopped because there was a red light and NO yield sign.  The driver behind me who had honked was so distraught as I asked him to pass me (slowly driving in the far right lane that merges), thinking he was in a hurry, that he felt compelled to stop his vehicle in the middle of E Street and lecture me that I shouldn’t have stopped, that although there is no yield sign that I should treat that right hand turn as a “yield.”  Possibly he would preferred that I would have just rolled through into the right most lane with the cars still the left most lane. I am cautious as well and didn’t know whether either car was going to turn right at the next possible moment without their turn signal on.  So my claim is safety first if I am being convicted of obstructing traffic. What is your opinion on this?  I would like to think I obey the traffic laws (on a bike and in a car). Robert

The answer comes from Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Rich Celli:

I am glad to help with this.  First of all, your reader was actually driving westbound as it is a one-way roadway, traveling westbound only.  Your reader is correct in yielding at the intersection.  Although he was in the right hand turn lane for northbound South E Street, he must yield to oncoming traffic.  21800(a) CVC states that the driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle which has entered the intersection from a different highway.  In this case, the right hand turn lane also has a merge lane going north from the intersection.  21658(a) CVC states that whenever any roadway has been divided into tow or more clearly marked lanes for traffic in one direction, the following rules apply  (a) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until such movement can be made with reasonable safety.

The bottom line is that your reader was not creating gridlock in the intersection and was attempting to merge onto South E Street safely.  Nobody should balk at drivers who watch out for the other guy.

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If you have a question for the Road Warrior, please email it to jim.fremgen@pressdemocrat.com

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