VC 21454TBWD eligibleLane & turning
Disobeying lane-use signals
Where lane-use control signals are installed over individual lanes, drivers must obey the green arrow, red X, or flashing yellow X indication.
Vehicle Code 21454 — statutory text
Official source ↗When lane use control signals are placed over individual lanes of a street or highway, such signals shall indicate and apply to drivers of vehicles as follows: (a) Downward green arrow. A driver facing this signal indication is permitted to drive in the lane over which the signal is located. (b) Steady yellow "X" symbol. A driver facing this signal indication is thereby warned that a lane control change is being made and shall vacate the lane as soon as it is safe. (c) Steady red "X" symbol. A driver facing this signal indication shall not enter or travel in the lane over which the signal is located.
Quoted from the California Legislative Information website. The full section may contain additional subdivisions not reproduced here — click “Official source” for the complete text as currently in force.
Base fine
$238.00
Does not include court fees or assessments.
DMV points
1
Points raise your insurance.
Filing window
30 days
From citation date, use form TR-205-2024.
You can file a Trial by Written Declaration
Under CA Vehicle Code § 40902, infractions may be contested in writing. If the officer fails to respond within their required window, your ticket is dismissed. California requires a bail deposit equal to the fine; it is refunded if dismissed.
Also known as
lane use signalred X violationlane control violation
Defenses our AI considers (12)
- Equipment fixed — correctable violationhistorical success ~80%Equipment violations (window tint, exhaust, lights, plates, wipers, etc.) are correctable in every supported state. Proof of repair signed by a qualified inspector resolves the citation administratively.
- Documentary cure — proof on date of citationhistorical success ~75%Many "failure to produce" charges (insurance, registration, license) are dismissed on proof the document existed and was valid on the date of citation. This is codified in most state fix-it / correctable-violation statutes.
- Sign obscured, missing, or recently changedhistorical success ~50%A driver cannot be held to a regulation that was not reasonably communicated. An obscured, damaged, missing, or recently-changed sign at the cited location is both a mistake-of-fact defense and a due-process notice defect.
- Statute of limitations / speedy-trial violationhistorical success ~45%Every state imposes statutory deadlines between citation, arraignment, and trial. When the state misses a jurisdictional deadline — including officer-declaration deadlines in TBWD proceedings — dismissal is mandatory, not discretionary.
Our AI drafts 3 options per case, tailored to your ticket's facts. You choose or regenerate.