Right Lane Must Exit

In California,

i was ticketed for not exiting the freeway from a 'right lane must exit' lane. I was under the impression that you needed to either exit the freeway or get into the next left lane before the thick-dashed white lines turned to solid.

When i presented this argument to the officer, he demanded that i exit the freeway from that lane, however, a mile earlier, that lane was the onramp to the freeway. he could not distinguish for me at what point i needed to be out of the lane in order not to exit. I was unable to find anything in the california vehicle code regarding this situation.

does anyone know where i can find info about this?

[lwpat]

I have researched this before and could not find any information on a solid white line except to indicate a bicycle lane. According to the CA driver's handbook a dashed white line separates traffic flowing in the same direction and you may change lanes at any time as long as it is safe.

In my opinion your impression would be correct. In CA you can request a Trial by Declaration and that would be my recommendation if you wish to contest the ticket. This will force the officer to state his reasons for issuing the ticket.

thanks.