Arizona Revised Statutes section 28-751 is the state’s turning statute. It tells you where your vehicle must be positioned when you approach an intersection, where it must be during the turn, and which lane you must land in afterward. A violation is a civil traffic offense that carries a court-set fine, surcharges, and two points on your driving record, and it can also establish negligence in a civil suit if the turn causes a crash.
Right Turn Positioning
Both the approach and the turn itself must be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-751 – Required Position and Method of Turning “As close as practicable” doesn’t require your tires to touch the curb. It means being as far right as road conditions reasonably allow given parked cars, cyclists, or debris.
The setup has to happen well before the intersection. Drifting out of a center lane into a last-second right turn is exactly the maneuver the statute targets.
Left Turn Positioning
Left turns have two parts. First, you approach in the extreme left-hand lane lawfully available for traffic in your direction.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-751 – Required Position and Method of Turning On a two-lane road, that is the lane next to the center line. On a multi-lane road, it is the far-left through lane, or the dedicated left-turn lane if one exists.
Second, once in the intersection, make the turn from the left of the intersection’s center and finish in the nearest lane available for your new direction of travel.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-751 – Required Position and Method of Turning The statute adds “if practicable,” which accounts for intersections where geometry or traffic makes the textbook path impossible.
When Posted Markings Change the Default
The ADOT director and local authorities can override the general positioning rules at specific intersections by installing markers, buttons, or signs that direct a different turning path.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-751 – Required Position and Method of Turning The most common example is a dual left-turn intersection, where painted arrows guide each turning lane into a designated receiving lane.
When those markings are present, they replace the general rules entirely, and compliance with the posted direction is mandatory.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-751 – Required Position and Method of Turning Following the default “nearest lane” rule where dual-turn arrows are painted can put you directly into the path of the car beside you.
The Signal Rule That Travels With It
ARS 28-754 works alongside the turning statute. It prohibits any turn at an intersection unless the vehicle is in the position required by 28-751 and the movement can be made safely. It also requires you to signal continuously for at least the last 100 feet before the turn whenever other traffic could be affected.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-754 – Turning Movements and Required Signals The same 100-foot rule applies to lane changes and turns into private driveways.
A signal is also required before slowing or stopping suddenly, so long as there is an opportunity to give it to the driver behind you.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 28-754 – Turning Movements and Required Signals Officers often cite both statutes together when a turn is both improperly positioned and unsignaled.
Fines, Surcharges, and Points
A violation of 28-751 is a civil traffic offense. You receive a citation, not an arrest. The base fine is set by the court where the ticket is filed, and each court maintains its own fee schedule.3AZ Court Help. Civil Traffic Fee Schedules The Department of Public Safety directs questions about specific amounts to the court listed on the citation.4Arizona Department of Public Safety. Courts and Traffic Ticket Information
What inflates the total is the surcharge stack. Arizona adds a 68% consolidated surcharge to the base fine for civil traffic violations, plus flat-dollar assessments including a $20 probation assessment, a $13 additional assessment, a $9 diversion surcharge, and a $4 peace officer training assessment, along with smaller victim-related fees.5Arizona Judicial Branch. Mitigation of Fines, Penalties, Surcharges, Assessments, and Fees A modest base fine can roughly double once everything is added.
A conviction also puts two points on your Arizona driving record. Eight or more points within any 12-month period can trigger a mandatory Traffic Survival School assignment, and failing to attend may result in a license suspension of up to 12 months.6Arizona Judicial Branch. MVD and Courts Training Manual Two points from one turn won’t push you there alone, but they stack quickly on top of recent violations.
Getting the Ticket Dismissed Through Defensive Driving School
Arizona offers a once-per-year dismissal option. If the turning citation appears on the court’s list of eligible offenses, completing a state-approved defensive driving course dismisses the citation entirely and eliminates both the fine and the points.7Arizona Judicial Branch. Defensive Driving Schools
Eligibility conditions:
- You cannot have attended a defensive driving course for another eligible citation issued within the past 12 months. The clock runs from the date of the current violation.
- You are ineligible if the turning violation was connected to a serious-injury or fatal crash.
- The course must be finished no later than seven days before your scheduled court date.
- Commercial license holders qualify only if they were driving a vehicle requiring a standard Class D or Class M license and were not using it for commercial purposes.
The course itself has a cost, but it is almost always cheaper than paying the full fine plus surcharges and absorbing the insurance increase that follows a conviction.7Arizona Judicial Branch. Defensive Driving Schools
What Happens If the Turn Causes a Crash
When an improper turn leads to a collision, the consequences reach beyond the ticket. Arizona recognizes negligence per se, meaning a violation of a specific safety statute can establish negligence as a matter of law in a civil case. The State Bar’s standard jury instructions tell jurors that if they find a person violated a safety law, that person is negligent, and the jury then decides whether the negligence caused the plaintiff’s injuries.8State Bar of Arizona. Negligence Instructions
ARS 28-751 fits the doctrine precisely because it prescribes specific conduct rather than a vague standard of care. A driver cited for an improper turn that caused a crash will struggle to argue they weren’t negligent when the statute spells out exactly where the vehicle should have been. The injured party still must prove the violation caused their injuries, and Arizona’s comparative-fault system can reduce recovery based on any carelessness by the injured driver. A clear statutory violation nonetheless shifts the balance enough that insurers often choose to settle rather than fight.