Are you ‘rat running?’ What IL law says about cutting through parking lots to skip a light
Have you ever taken a shortcut through a parking lot so you didn’t have to wait at a long red light in Illinois?
The practice of cutting through a neighborhood street, convenience store or parking lot to avoid traffic signals is sometimes referred to as “rat running,” and state laws vary on the issue.
Illinois law requires drivers to follow traffic light instructions, unless otherwise directed by a police officer or when driving an authorized emergency vehicle, but is it legal to cut through and avoid them? Here’s what to know.
Illinois state law on “rat running”
Illinois law does not allow drivers to cross private property to avoid traffic lights.
“It is unlawful for any person to leave the roadway and travel across private property to avoid an official traffic control device,” the relevant Illinois law says.
Illinois state troopers may issue a $164 citation to drivers who violate this law, Illinois State Police spokesperson Melissa Albert-Lopez said in a recent email to the News-Democrat.
Belleville Police Department officials told the News-Democrat in a recent email the agency has not issued any tickets related to the specific provision since at least 2022, though officers have issued tickets for failure to obey traffic light signals. These citations are typically given when crashes occur.
The Land of Lincoln is not the only place to ban traffic light avoidance — Maryland Heights in St. Louis County has a local ordinance prohibiting rat running, and the states of Texas, Florida, Virginia, New York and New Jersey also disallow the practice, according to injury lawyer website Thompson Law.
If you approach a broken red light in Illinois, state law dictates you should treat it as a four-way-stop rather than cutting through to get around it.
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.
