VC 21650TBWD eligibleLane & turning
Drive on right side of road
Failure to drive upon the right half of the roadway, except when overtaking, encountering an obstruction, on a one-way street, or in a designated lane.
Vehicle Code 21650 — statutory text
Official source ↗Upon all highways, a vehicle shall be driven upon the right half of the roadway, except as follows: (a) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing that movement. (b) When placing a vehicle in a lawful position for, and when the vehicle is lawfully making, a left turn. (c) When the right half of a roadway is closed to traffic under construction or repair. (d) Upon a roadway restricted to one-way traffic. (e) When the roadway is not of sufficient width. (f) When the vehicle is necessarily traveling so slowly as to impede the normal movement of traffic, that portion of the highway adjacent to the right edge of the roadway may be utilized temporarily when in a condition permitting safe operation.
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
driving on wrong sidewrong side of roadleft of center
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.