“Improper Left Turn Into Middle Instead Of Extreme Left Lane”

Hello,

This is my first traffic ticket and I have never gone to court for anything before so I am a bit intimidated by the whole thing. Here is what happened:

I was at the Don Mills and Eglinton intersection on Wednesday during rush hour. I was in the left turn lane, first car in the intersection. There was a car behind me. I waited for the heavy traffic to clear but it did not. They eventually stopped when the light turned amber. I hurried to take my left turn before the light turned red. I did not want to be caught in the intersection on a red light nor did I want the car behind me to get caught in the intersection. I barely touched the extreme left lane in Eglinton then I moved into the middle lane. An officer signaled me to stop. So I gave a signal to the right side and stopped on the right side of the street. I had no clue that I had done anything wrong. I received an improper left turn ticket that comes with a 110 dollar fine and two demerit points. I do not mind paying the fine but I need the 2 demerit points removed. I have requested a trial today. I have talked to friends and was told that it is very rare for anyone to get a ticket for this reason. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you so much!

The same thing happened to me today. I was in the left turn lane, on Scarlett Road, turning on to Eglinton, and I thought I went into the extreme left lane, then quickly moved to the right lane with a bit of a signal. The cop (who was VERY rude), told me to park in the middle of the road, between the two solid yellow lines. First of all, that didn't feel very safe, with oncoming traffic, and on going traffic. Secondly, he gave me a ticket for $110 !!!!

I felt it was a bit extreme. I remember quickly going into the extreme left. I would like to fight this ticket. Any info would be appreciated, I've never fought a ticket before, because I never get them!!

PS. I thought the Cop would be a little nicer to a 8 1/2 month pregnant woman! I also wish that citizens could give extremely rude police officers ticket for being unkind. They can at least be nice about it when they take your money!!

I received the same ticket on Thursday afternoon. I was turning left onto Finch Ave W where there are 3 lanes of traffic. I was the final car to clear the intersection as the light turned orange as I was driving through, and I think I was following the previous car fairly closely. I turned into the far left lane and immediately activated my turn signal and moved into the far right lane after making the turn. About 100m down the road, I was pulled over by an officer who stepped out from beside a truck that he had already pulled over and was ticketing. He told me he'd pulled me over for an improper left turn, and that although I should turn into the leftmost lane, he would have let the middle lane go, but I'd turned into the right most lane. I said that I hadn't done that, but then shut up because I didn't think I should be arguing with the police officer. He told me I was going to get a ticket and went off to write it up.

I drive through that intersection every day after work, and am always conscious of keeping to the left lane before changing lanes. I asked him when he came back to the car how far I have to drive along the street before changing lanes, and he said I could do it right away after the turn. I said that was what I had done, but he disagreed.

This guy was 100m from the intersection, was ticketing a truck at the same time, and I was following closely behind another car. I find it hard to believe that he would see exactly when I made my lane change, when I know I made the turn correctly. I've already asked for a court gate as I'm not guilty, but I'm not sure how to go about fighting this.

I hope someone can give us good advice! This particular location right by Finch W and the 400 is frequently occupied by ticket-crazy officers. I know I didn't make the turn incorrectly, but at this point it's my word against his. Makes me wish I had a dashboard camera!

I have got a similar ticket at Don Mills and Eglington. During the left turn, I decided to move to the middle lane considering it was safe and I have to take DVP (S) in next 500m. The officer said the intersection is considered risky and drivers need to follow the rule.

I have few questions -

1. Is it illegal to change the lane on left turn if the street where you are turning towards has multiple lanes and the street from where you are turning has only only left turn lane? It if is illegal, then why would anyone challenge it in the court?

2. Has anyone fought the improper left turn or 141(6) ticket? I have seen few posting on getting a ticket but none on how the trial went through.

Appreciate any insight!