California Vehicle Code 22107 sets two rules for turning or changing lanes: the movement has to be reasonably safe, and you have to signal when any other vehicle could be affected. A citation is an infraction that runs about $238 in total and adds one point to your DMV record. It’s one of the most commonly written traffic tickets in the state, and the point can cost you more in insurance over three years than the ticket itself.
What the Statute Requires
The law is short. You cannot move your vehicle right or left on a roadway unless the move is reasonably safe and you’ve given an appropriate signal when another vehicle may be affected.1California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22107 – Turning and Stopping and Turning Signals Those are two separate obligations, and both have to be met.
The first is a safety judgment you make before you start to move. You have to be able to complete the move without endangering other drivers, cyclists, or pedestrians. A perfect signal doesn’t cure an unsafe move. If you signal and still cut someone off, you’ve violated the section.
The second obligation is the signal. Notice the condition built into the statute: a signal is required “in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement.”2California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22107 – Turning and Stopping and Turning Signals As a matter of habit you should always signal, because you can rarely be sure no one is nearby. But that “may be affected” language can matter when a ticket is contested.
The 100-Foot Signaling Rule
The specific distance comes from a companion statute, CVC 22108. The signal has to run continuously during the last 100 feet your vehicle travels before the turn or lane change begins.3California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code 22108 – Turning and Stopping and Turning Signals One hundred feet is roughly seven car lengths. At 25 mph you cover it in about 2.7 seconds; at freeway speeds, in just over a second. That makes 100 feet a floor on the freeway, not a target.
Signaling for the full 100 feet doesn’t rescue an unsafe move. If the signal is on but the lane change forces another driver to brake hard, CVC 22107 is still in play. The two sections work together.
When the Rule Applies
CVC 22107 covers any lateral movement on a roadway, not only what most people picture as a “turn” or “lane change.” The common scenarios:
- Lane changes on multi-lane roads, with the signal running for at least 100 feet in the original lane.
- Left and right turns at intersections, including turns into driveways and parking lots.
- Merging onto a highway from an on-ramp, where you’re blending into faster traffic.
- Pulling to the shoulder or curb, which is still lateral movement out of a travel lane.
- Swerving around debris or a pothole, if the move could affect nearby traffic. An actual emergency may give you a defense, but the section still applies.
The thread running through all of these is the same: any shift from your established path when another vehicle may be affected.
What a Ticket Costs
A CVC 22107 violation is an infraction. There’s no jail time and no criminal record. The money, though, is more than the base fine suggests. The statutory base fine for this kind of moving violation is $35, but California layers state penalty assessments, a court construction fee, a DNA fund fee, county penalties, and a 20% state surcharge on top.4California Courts. Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedules The total typically lands near $238, and additional court fees can push what you actually owe past $400.
A conviction also adds one point to your DMV record. CVC 12810 assigns one point to any traffic conviction involving the safe operation of a vehicle.5California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 12810 The point stays on your record for three years and can push your insurance premiums up for the same stretch.
Traffic School to Keep the Point Off Your Record
If you qualify, traffic school is usually worth it. Completing a court-approved course masks the DMV point from your public driving record, so insurers don’t see it. You’re eligible if you haven’t attended traffic school in the past 18 months and the violation is a qualifying infraction.6California Courts. Traffic School
Traffic school doesn’t erase the fine. You still pay the full ticket plus a court administrative fee. For most drivers the insurance savings over three years outweigh the time and cost. The court has to approve the request, and the judge has discretion to deny it for certain violations, so don’t treat approval as automatic.
How the Ticket Affects Accident Liability
This is where a 22107 citation can get genuinely expensive. If you violated the statute and caused a collision, the other driver’s attorney can argue negligence per se. Under that doctrine, breaking a safety law designed to prevent the exact kind of harm that occurred creates a presumption of negligence. CVC 22107 exists to prevent lane-change and turning collisions, so a violation that produces one is strong evidence of fault.
California uses pure comparative negligence, meaning your recovery is reduced by your share of fault. If you changed lanes without signaling and the other driver was speeding, a court might split fault between you. Even so, a 22107 violation tends to tip the scales against the driver who made the lateral move. That’s one reason officers often cite this code at accident scenes, and one reason the ticket can matter well beyond the fine.
Fighting a CVC 22107 Ticket
Two defenses show up most often. The first is that the move was safe. If no vehicle was close enough to be affected and no one had to adjust speed or position, the statute’s conditions weren’t triggered. The language requires “reasonable safety” and a signal when another vehicle “may be affected.” Dashcam footage or witness testimony showing an open road gives that defense real traction.1California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22107 – Turning and Stopping and Turning Signals
The second is emergency. If you swerved to avoid a sudden hazard, a pedestrian stepping off the curb, or a vehicle stopping abruptly in front of you, the emergency may justify a lane change made without a signal. Courts recognize that strict compliance isn’t always possible in a split-second safety decision.
Whichever defense fits, build it around the two elements the statute actually names: whether the move was reasonably safe, and whether another vehicle was close enough to be affected by it. Those are the questions a judge will decide.