Questions about Infraction 21651 (a)

[unwrinkled]

Jurisdiction

California

I crossed the double yellow lines to turn left, it's true. I did it because the three way stop sign intersection I was approaching had a thick white painted line that extended from the normal driving lane into and covering the entire one-vehicle-width median, and not extending onto the other side of the street.
I assumed that a white line to stop behind wouldn't be painted in the middle of a median, since these are only painted at the front of left turn lanes.
I was wrong.
I am just wondering if that is worth arguing about, or is the double yellow line an inviolable rule of God, despite the contradictory, or at least misleading thick white front line.

Also, I can't seem to find anywhere about how much it would cost to pay this ticket, nor if it would result in points on my license, nor, if it did, how many points that would be and what effect that would have on my insurance. (I have had no traffic violations for at least 7 years.)

Since it's California, could I file a demurrer? And do I need a lawyer to do that?

Is no contest an option?

Thanks

 

[Highwayman]

Was it a median or a set of double solid yellow lines? Your description is very confusing.

 

[army judge]

I crossed the double yellow lines to turn left, it's true. I did it because the three way stop sign intersection I was approaching had a thick white painted line that extended from the normal driving lane into and covering the entire one-vehicle-width median, and not extending onto the other side of the street.
I assumed that a white line to stop behind wouldn't be painted in the middle of a median, since these are only painted at the front of left turn lanes.
I was wrong.
I am just wondering if that is worth arguing about, or is the double yellow line an inviolable rule of God, despite the contradictory, or at least misleading thick white front line.

Also, I can't seem to find anywhere about how much it would cost to pay this ticket, nor if it would result in points on my license, nor, if it did, how many points that would be and what effect that would have on my insurance. (I have had no traffic violations for at least 7 years.)

Since it's California, could I file a demurrer? And do I need a lawyer to do that?

Is no contest an option?

Thanks

Inquire about online traffic school.
If you are eligible, complete the traffic school, pay the Queen or King some money, your record remains sparkling clean.

Forget contesting it, even with a lawyer, unless you enjoy wasting 4-8 hours watching the liars and spin masters try to convince the Queen's judge to simply slap your wrists.

A no contest has the same effect as a guilty finding, or a guilty plea.
You're no longer sparkly clean, you're sullied with your filthy traffic offense.
Your insurance goes up, you cough up $500, maybe a grand to the state.

Traffic school, online traffic school from the comfort of your luxurious mansion.

 

[CdwJava]

If you choose to contest the violation and you lose, the chances of traffic school are greatly diminished. So if avoiding a potential insurance rate increase is something you want to do, than pleading "guilty" or "no contest" is where you might want to consider going.