Decision of the court on compliance with traffic rules during a lane change at an intersection

Facts

[M.], a taxi driver, was driving on Weststrasse in Zurich towards the city centre. Upon reaching the intersection with Kalkbreitestrasse, he stopped at the red light in the middle lane. As the light turned green, at the request of his passenger, [M.] made a left turn from the through traffic lane, thus placing himself in front of the vehicles turning left. The municipal court of Zurich convicted him of an offence under Art. 27(1) and Art. 39(1) RTA. The district court acquitted him, but the cantonal court overturned this decision.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considers that [M.] has violated several traffic rules

Firstly, he was obliged to enter the lane corresponding to his direction of travel (Art. 36(1) RTA). Once in a lane, he had to remain there and continue in the direction indicated by the road markings and traffic lights (Art. 49(3) RSO). Lane changes were only permitted up to the intersection limit, but not once it had been crossed (Art. 36(1) and…