Can you run a red light if construction blocks off a whole road in Boise? Here’s Idaho law
As construction ramps up for the summer in downtown Boise and elsewhere around the Treasure Valley, reacting to certain construction zones or traffic conditions can sometimes become confusing.
For example, you can’t speed up over the posted limit to overtake another vehicle in a construction zone. But you can still turn left on a red light if both streets at an intersection are one-way.
But what about if you’re at an intersection where one road is closed on both sides, but you’re stuck at a red light? Can you drive through the red light, or treat it as a stop sign?
It’s a situation that Boise drivers may find themselves confronting over the next couple of months as the city closes parts of downtown through the summer for projects, including geothermal system repairs and development construction.
Driving through a red light with construction
One example of a confusing stop light is the intersection of Grove and 13th streets, which is affected by the Linen Blocks project. The project will add trees, larger sidewalks and public art to the area.
The project has closed Grove Street on both sides of 13th Street, but you can still drive north and south along 13th. However, the traffic light at the 13th and Grove intersection often sits on red, leaving drivers waiting for nothing as no cars can turn or drive across the intersection.
So, can you treat the red light like a stop sign and drive through once it’s safe to do so?
It’s a scenario that isn’t explicitly outlined in the Idaho Statutes traffic laws — the state’s laws and rules document — but the Boise Police Department does have a hardline answer:
“The road closure doesn’t change the requirement to stay stopped until the light cycles to green,” Boise Police Department spokesperson Haley Williams told the Idaho Statesman. “The question is reasonable, but there is no exemption in the law for road closures.”
So if you’re sitting in a construction zone where one road is completely blocked, you must still obey traffic light laws and wait on a red light.
Other confusing Idaho traffic light laws
Although you must obey typical stoplight laws in the scenario listed above, Idaho has its fair share of other confusing road laws. Here are two traffic light-related laws that are essential to know:
What should you do if a red light isn’t changing?
In short, there are very few instances in which you can run a red light in Idaho.
“Unfortunately, the law clearly states vehicles must stop at lights,” Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell previously told the Idaho Statesman. “I’m not sure any law enforcement agency could/would/should say running red lights is legal.”
Even if the stoplight takes longer than usual to turn green, Snell said, there are still no instances in which a person in a motor vehicle can proceed into the intersection without stopping.
But there are some instances where driving through a red light is acceptable.
If a traffic light is malfunctioning or hasn’t changed from red for the duration of an entire cycle, motorcycles are permitted to enter the intersection with “due caution and care,” according to the Idaho Statutes.
If a stoplight is not working at all, Snell said, drivers should treat the intersection as a four-way stop: one driver entering the intersection at a time and proceeding with caution.
It is also legal to pass through a malfunctioning red light if directed to by a traffic director.
Can you drive through a yellow light in Idaho?
The Gem State is one of about three dozen states that employs a “permissive yellow light law,” which means that as long as your front bumper is in the intersection while the light is still yellow, you’re safe to go.
So, in short, if you’re approaching an intersection and are confident that you’ll be in the intersection before the light hits red, you can keep cruising.
But that doesn’t mean you should speed up to try to beat a red light. Boise Police Officer Kyle Wills previously told the Statesman that seeing a yellow light “does not mean accelerate.”
Sometimes, when there is construction, a malfunction with the sign, or it’s simply late at night when there’s not much traffic, you may come across a flashing yellow or red light.
A flashing yellow means a driver may enter the intersection without stopping but with caution, according to Title 49, Chapter 8 of the Idaho Statutes. A flashing red means you must stop before entering the intersection and proceed only when it’s safe and no other cars are approaching.
