Can you legally drive through a broken red light in Illinois? What state law says
If you’ve ever spent several minutes waiting at a stalled red light in southwestern Illinois, you may have wondered if it’s legal to proceed through.
In general, running a red light is considered a petty offense in Illinois and may result in a $164 fine, Illinois State Police Trooper Genelle Jones wrote in an email to the News-Democrat.
But what should you do if you approach a red light that seems to be broken in Illinois? Here’s what to know.
Think you may be stuck at a broken red light?
Drivers stuck at a broken red light that does not change should revert to the right-of-way rules used for four-way stop signs.
Unless directed otherwise by a police officer, drivers should stop before entering the crosswalk, or at the marked stop line if there’s not a crosswalk, before making sure there is no approaching traffic. The driver who arrives and stops first should proceed through the intersection first.
Illinois law does not specify an amount of time a vehicle should wait at a red light before assuming it’s broken. So you may want to use caution when considering proceeding through a red light that appears to be stalled but isn’t flashing or completely out.
In Illinois municipalities with fewer than 2 million residents, motorcyclists and bicyclists have a special provision allowing them to proceed through broken red lights.
After two minutes of waiting at a red light, if the signal fails to change because it’s broken or because it doesn’t detect the cyclist’s weight, a cyclist should yield to oncoming traffic with a green signal and then have the right-of-way to pass through, according to state law.
If you spot a broken traffic light in Belleville that doesn’t appear to be under construction, you can report the issue to city staff online.
