Police goof up?

What is the name of your state? georgia
I recieved a ticket for driving on the wrong side of the road but I was not driving on the wrong side of the road. A car was taking a left at the greelight and myself and three others went around on the right in the turn lane. Some one please explain this to me as drivers ed law says that was the correct thing to do but the police officers partner stated that there was two signs stating you could not do that,well i went back and looked and the only two signs I saw stated right lane must turn right. help!

lynnt46 said:

What is the name of your state? georgia
I recieved a ticket for driving on the wrong side of the road but I was not driving on the wrong side of the road. A car was taking a left at the greelight and myself and three others went around on the right in the turn lane. Some one please explain this to me as drivers ed law says that was the correct thing to do but the police officers partner stated that there was two signs stating you could not do that,well i went back and looked and the only two signs I saw stated right lane must turn right. help!

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If it was a right-turn only lane, then you can't use it to go straight. The legally correct thing to do would have been to wait for the driver in front of you to make their left turn before continuing in the proper lane.

lynnt46, you should provide more information on the Georgia citation you received (code/statue). The Georgia DDS web site is currently down so I can't refer to what the Driver's Manual might say, but in general, I would agree with Zigner. You probably committed a moving violation, but perhaps not the one you were written up for. That could be useful if you choose to fight the ticket.

I am not familiar with Georgia laws, regulations, or judicial system, so I can't say anything more specific.

ga drivers manuel

Smiles said:

lynnt46, you should provide more information on the Georgia citation you received (code/statue). The Georgia DDS web site is currently down so I can't refer to what the Driver's Manual might say, but in general, I would agree with Zigner. You probably committed a moving violation, but perhaps not the one you were written up for. That could be useful if you choose to fight the ticket.

I am not familiar with Georgia laws, regulations, or judicial system, so I can't say anything more specific.

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Georgia Drivers Manuel on page 48 under section of Passing On The Right (no section#)
states and I quote word for word--You may pass on the right of another vehicle which is making or about to make a left turn.You may also pass on the right when traveling on a multi-lane highway carrying two or more lanes of traffic in the same direction.
And every road in henry county needs to be widened because of growth and overdevelopment

lynnt46 said:

What is the name of your state? georgia
I recieved a ticket for driving on the wrong side of the road but I was not driving on the wrong side of the road. A car was taking a left at the greelight and myself and three others went around on the right in the turn lane. Some one please explain this to me as drivers ed law says that was the correct thing to do but the police officers partner stated that there was two signs stating you could not do that,well i went back and looked and the only two signs I saw stated right lane must turn right. help!

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According to your facts, you are guilty.

lynnt46 said:

Georgia Drivers Manuel on page 48 under section of Passing On The Right (no section#)
states and I quote word for word--You may pass on the right of another vehicle which is making or about to make a left turn.You may also pass on the right when traveling on a multi-lane highway carrying two or more lanes of traffic in the same direction.
And every road in henry county needs to be widened because of growth and overdevelopment

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That may be referring to a general rule of multilane traffic being able to pass on the right in GA, instead of being limited to pass-on-left-only as in some states.

In MA, you can pass on the right on any multilane divided highway. This is so you don't get people driving slowly in the left lane, for instance, and dangerously screwing up the flow of traffic. However, it would not apply in your situation as the lanes were marked as right-turn-only. (Signage generally trumps other rules. For example, if there was a lawful sign in MA that read, "No passing on right next 3 miles," that would likely trump the pass-on-right rule. I believe the order of precidence here is: cop/authority, traffic signal, signage, lane markings, rules of the road. Get my drift? If the lane markings were solid white instead of dashes, that would also prohibit a driver in MA from passing on the right - or passing at all, as vehicles are not supposed to cross over solid white lines.)

The section you quoted is mostly about passing on two lane roads. It is certainly not intended to account for passing at intersections, which is actually prohibited in a subsequent section (no passing within 100 feet of an intersection). It could also be argued that the two lanes of traffic on your side are not traveling in the same "direction" - one is for turning right only. Unfortunately, you don't have much of a leg to stand on here.

Arguing about overpopulation won't get you very far - everyone else in your area is subject to it as well, and unless citations have doubled or tripled, it's unlikely to sway opinion. You still didn't cite the statute you violated, so there's no way for this observer to even make a cursory guess as to whether it's applicable or not.

The bottom line is you're very probably guilty of a violation, but you may not be guilty of what you were charged with. And that's what matters. Your best bet is to get in touch with someone versed in GA traffic law, perhaps a free consultation with a lawyer who routinely works the traffic courts in your area.