Mahaffey, Wilton Larron

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

OF TEXAS

NO. PD-0795-11

WILTON LARRON MAHAFFEY, Appellant v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS

ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

FROM THE TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS

HENDERSON COUNTY

K ELLER, P.J., filed a dissenting opinion in which P RICE and K EASLER, JJ., joined.

The traffic sign in this case read, “lane ends, merge left.” From this sign, we know that the right lane ended. If a person’s lane ends, that person must change lanes to continue driving down the roadway. And changing lanes means he must signal. I agree with the court of appeals, which stated:

When the right-hand lane ended, Appellant continued driving in the other southbound lane, previously the lane to his left, that had not ended. To reach that remaining lane, Appellant had to make a leftward lateral maneuver as he departed that lane for another.1

MAHAFFEY DISSENT - 2

Because appellant’s lane ended,2 he was required to move into another lane, and he was required to signal before doing so. I would hold that the court of appeals correctly found that appellant executed a lane change without signaling.

I respectfully dissent.

Filed: April 25, 2012

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