What happened, exactly? I'm guessing you entered the intersection when the lane you wanted to turn into was backed up, so you would not have been able to clear the intersection even in the absence of oncoming traffic. Is that right?
I haven't lived in a lot of states but they've always said "one car can enter the intersection and wait to turn left." Implicit is the assumption that they have some place to be when the opposing traffic clears.
Actually it was non-stop oncoming traffic. The last person entered the intersection on a deep yellow. By the time they cleared my car, I was in a red in the middle of the intersection (as were they, but I got the ticket).
Assuming you were the lead car in the left-turn lane, I think the officer erred in citing you. The law can't require you to predict when other people are going to act illegally so you can plan accordingly.
It also doesn't make sense that not even one car per cycle is allowed to turn left across such a traffic flow. You could have sat there for hours following that advice.
