VTL § 1141, “Failed to Yield Right of way at Left Turn”

On your ticket the description of violation may appear as “FLD TO YLD RT-OF-WAY ON LEFT TURN”

Vehicle & Traffic Law § 1141 concerns the protocol when making a left turn at an intersection. A vehicle making a left turn is required to cross the lane(s) of traffic going in the opposite direction in order to make the turn. Thus, the law requires that the vehicle making the turn yield to any vehicles coming in the opposite direction. The failure to yield can result in a traffic ticket. This traffic ticket is often given at an accident, where the ticketing officer has probable cause to believe that one of the vehicles failed to yield. A conviction of this violation, whether by guilty plea or after trial, will result in three points on your driver’s license and a maximum fine of $243 for a first-time offense. The biggest cost however will likely be your car insurance. With this violation appearing on your record, you can expect to see increased insurance rates for the subsequent several years.

Text of Statute

This statute is one sentence and reads as follows:

The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway shall yield the right of way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.

Fighting a 1141 Ticket

It is not immoral or illegal to plead Not Guilty to this violation even if you failed to yield. Contrary to popular belief, a Not Guilty plea does not mean you are claiming that the ticketing officer was lying or was mistaken. Pleading Not Guilty merely means that you are utilizing your constitutional rights to require that the ticketing officer prove the charges. Any motorist that receives a traffic ticket can fight the charges whether they are true or false.

In New York State, motorists can retain a law firm to handle their traffic ticket in its entirety. This means your lawyer can file the Not Guilty plea for you and make any necessary court appearances in your place. You can get the charges reduced or dismissed without taking time off from work or even leaving your home. For more detailed information, you can contact the attorneys at the Benjamin Goldman Law Office. Consultations are complimentary.

Benjamin Goldman Law Office

The attorneys at the Benjamin Goldman Law office fight these charges often. We are a state-wide traffic ticket defense firm. Our firm has successfully handled this charge in many courts including specifically in Wallkill, Amherst, Queens, Ovid, Middletown, New Paltz, Queensbury, Fallsburg, and Cicero, We can go to court instead of you and are confident that we can get the charge dismissed or reduced to a 0-point parking ticket. You can get in touch with us any time. We can be reached via phone call, text message, email, or website submission. Our team looks forward to helping with your case.

Fight a VTL § 1141 Ticket