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Ask the Times: Turn lanes are just for turning, law says
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If you’ve been wondering about something in your community, Ask The Times is your place to get answers. The following questions were submitted by readers and answered through the efforts of our news staff.I have noticed many times trucks hauling automobiles parked in the center turn lane for extended periods of time unloading their load of automobiles. Is this a legal use of the center turn lanes?Cpl. Kevin Holbrook, spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department, said this is not a legal use of the center turn lanes.The same rule that applies to your average driver in using those turn lanes also applies to these trucks, he said.According to state law: “Whenever a highway or roadway has a central lane in which traffic may enter from either direction for the purpose of making a left turn, no vehicle shall be driven into such central lane except for the purpose of making a left turn, and no vehicle shall enter into such central lane at a location which is more than 300 feet from the location where the vehicle will turn left across one or more lanes of oncoming traffic.