You’re stuck behind a traffic light, waiting to turn right, and it’s taking forever. There’s a gas station or business next to you; you could easily cut through their parking lot to get around the light and keep driving, no problem.
Should you?
Not unless you enjoy being fined a few hundred dollars and getting three points on your license.
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Is it against the law to cut through parking lots to avoid traffic lights in Florida?
Florida statute 316.074 requires all drivers to obey the instructions of any official traffic control device, with exemptions for authorized emergency vehicles and anyone directed otherwise by a police officer.
It’s not a long chapter, but it specifically states: “No person shall drive any vehicle from a roadway to another roadway to avoid obeying the indicated traffic control indicated by such traffic control device.”
Will I go to jail if I cut through a parking lot?
Violations are noncriminal infractions punishable as a moving violation, the same category as failing to stop at a red light to make a right turn.
Skipping around a light will run you $158, plus additional administrative and surcharges. You’ll also earn three points against your driving record, which can affect insurance rates, influence any convictions of crimes, and even (if you keep racking them up) result in your license getting suspended.
Just wait for the light to change.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Is it legal in Florida to use a parking lot to avoid traffic lights?
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
