The political theory is that traffic laws should be fairly uniform, make sense to the average person, and the difference between legal and illegal behavior should be obvious. That’s the political theory. Reality is a whole different story. No traffic law better displays the disconnect between this political theory and reality, than the officially described “U-turn.”

The statutory definition usually makes reference to a vehicle turning in a manner that it reverses its direction of travel.

Fair enough, but what makes one of these turns legal or illegal?

It all depends where you are when you make that U-turn. While most states have some kind of legal structure that differentiates between legal and illegal U-turns, the game doesn’t end there. The states also allow local governments to further define what is legal and what is not.

So, the state may allow a mid-block U-turn, but the Town of Prongville, population 879, can have an ordinance that says mid-block U-turns are illegal.

How does the average motorist know what rule applies?

He doesn’t, not unless a prominent sign is posted explaining the more stringent local ordinance. Often, no such sign exists, prominent or not. There is no one universal code of conduct that can keep you out of harms way when it comes to implementing a U-turn.

However, if you abide by the following rules your chances of being rousted for the hideous crime of “making an illegal U-turn” will be greatly reduced.

Read the rest of this entry »

Red light cameras in Texas are ticketing motorists who had legally entered intersections.

In one of my previous posts, I discussed just what constitutes running a red light in the state of Texas, and where you should stop. Well, there seems to be a new twist on the issue, Thanks to Garland, TX, the first city to install red light cameras. Read on…

The red light camera programs throughout Texas have opened themselves up to a significant new legal challenge. KTVT-TV reports that the Garland, Texas has essentially made up its own definition of red light running to ticket motorists who have not violated the law. Since Garland was one of the first cities to adopt red light cameras, its ordinance served as a model for the rest of the state. Most other cities use Garland’s definition of red light running.

According to Garland’s ordinance, a ticket will be issued “if the vehicle proceeds into an intersection at a system location when the traffic control signal for that vehicle’s direction of travel is emitting a steady red signal.” Garland defines entering the intersection as crossing an imaginary line that runs between the end points of the curb drawn parallel to the crosswalk. At one Garland intersection, the imaginary line would be ten feet beyond the painted stop bar.

Read the rest of this entry »

As previously discussed in this post, the Austin, TX City Council voted late last year, to approve installing red light cameras at selected intersections throughout the city.

As of Memorial Day 2008, they’re live, recording violators and sending that information to the city of Austin, so they can mail those unfortunate drivers a little surprise in the mail.

Everyone knows that you shouldn’t “run a red light.” Doing so is VERY dangerous, and can cost you your life — Or, worse yet, the life of someone else. But, just what constitutes a violation, and potential ticket? A little over a week ago, someone poised just that question in a Letter to the Editor of the Austin American-Statesman. The editor chose to publish the question, but offered no comment or explanation! THAT’S helpful!

To answer this question, I refer to a publication that most, if not all, drivers in Texas have studied at one point or another. It’s the standard for driving schools and driver’s education classes all across Texas – the Texas Drivers Handbook. I also will refer to the Texas Transportation Code, Section 544.007 to see what the state of Texas has to say about the subject.

Here’s what the Texas Drivers Handbook has to say about red lights:

Steady red Light

Stop before entering the crosswalk or intersection. You may turn right unless prohibited by law. You may also turn left if both streets are one way unless prohibited by law. You must yield to all pedestrians and other traffic lawfully using the intersection.

Read the rest of this entry »