Stuck At A Red Light? When Can You Run It?

Experienced drivers know this situation. You’re waiting at a traffic light that just… stays on red. What do you do in this situation? How long do you wait before you accept that it’s broken? A Rhode Island cop weighs in.

TikTok user Crais Sroka (@csroka) is a police officer out of Rhode Island who offers viewers some advice in a video posted earlier in the week. “If the red light is stuck on red for a long time, how long should you wait?” he says, reading a viewer comment on a previous video. “This is a great question, because this does happen. A lot of times you’ll see police officers at intersections directing traffic until that light is back to operation.”

So, What Do You Do If A Red Light Is Stuck?

Call your local police department or nonemergency line. “Do not call 911; you call the nonemergency number,” Sroka says.

However, make sure you have a passenger make the call or make it using a hands-free device. “Because you’re still on a public highway, and you can’t be on your phones on a public highway,” he notes.

After you’ve reported the malfunctioning light, Sroka says you should treat the light like a stop or caution sign. “We’ve all been at intersections where you have a blinking red light or a blinking yellow light,” he says. “You treat it the same way.”

Sroka says he often sees motorcycle drivers in this predicament. He recently saw a motorcycle trying to make a protected left turn stuck at a light due to either weight sensitivity or an issue with the magnetic system. Ultimately, Sroka says he had to get behind the driver and wave him through the intersection using the lights on his cruiser.

Today’s traffic signals generally operate on radar technology or video detection. In the past, cities installed loops buried under the road that indicated the light should change based on when a car stopped over them. That technology is still around on older roads and often doesn’t recognize motorcyclists or bicyclists.

Viewers React to the Stuck Red Light Question

In the comments section, viewers reacted to Sroka’s advice on stuck red lights and said what they would do in this situation. Spoiler alert: Not every strategy involves following traffic laws.

Some do, however. One person said, “Turn right on red. Make a U-turn and another right. Problem solved.”

A second person said, “In Pennsylvania, the ‘Ride on Red’ law, enacted in 2016, allows any vehicle to proceed through a malfunctioning traffic light after coming to a full stop.” The law also advises drivers to proceed with caution if the light is stuck on green or yellow, as opposed to red.

“It happens on my motorcycle,” confirmed one motorcyclist. “Look left, look right, throttle up, and go.”

“Some states have added laws that allow motorcyclists to automatically proceed through the light if it doesn’t turn after a reasonable amount of time,” said another person.

These are called “Dead Red” laws, and they tell motorcyclists to wait anywhere from a minute and a half to two minutes. Other states, like Tennessee, tell drivers to use their best judgement.