Pack your patience on your next cross town trip or risk getting a ticket.
While it’s tempting to look for a way to get around a red traffic light by cutting through a nearby business parking lot, it’s not worth the ticket and three points you’ll lose on your license.
It’s actually illegal in Florida to cut through a neighboring property just to avoid the traffic light in front of you.
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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 Pensacola News Journal: Is it legal to cut through a parking lot to avoid a traffic light?
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
