Staying In Your Lane
Veh. Code 21658 — as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane, and not moved until it can be with reasonable safety
Two duties. Where a roadway is divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic in one direction, a vehicle is driven as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane, and is not moved from the lane until the movement can be made with reasonable safety.
The standard the section writes is as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane, with any move out of the lane waiting until it can be made with reasonable safety. How courts apply those words to a brief touch of a line is not on this page.
Signs. Official signs may direct slow moving traffic to a designated lane or allocate specified lanes to traffic moving the same direction, and drivers obey them.
Whether a particular drift over a line was a violation, or a reason for a stop, depends on the facts and on how the courts read the words as nearly as practicable, and is a question for a licensed California attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- Veh. Code 21658 — Laned roadways
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.