New Ohio law allows running red lights in certain cases
The traffic light must be malfunctioning for it to be legal
The traffic light must be malfunctioning for it to be legal
The traffic light must be malfunctioning for it to be legal
A new law by Ohio legislators allows motorists to go through a red light in some cases legally.
“I think it’s going to lead to more crashes,” said Patrick Quinn, Colerain Township traffic safety division.
Quinn said he’s concerned because people are impatient. “Unfortunately, I see it as being another excuse to give people a way to get through red lights.”
State Sen. Cecil Thomas said drivers are easily distracted and prone to accidents at intersections.
He said a person proceeding through a green light would not expect a driver to go through a red light.
The key to this new law is that one can go through the red light legally only if the traffic device is malfunctioning.
“People have to realize if they cause a crash and they find out the light was indeed red, they’re going to be found at fault for that accident. And if the light is malfunctioning and they do enter that red light and they get stopped by a police officer, the burden of proof is on them to prove that the light was malfunctioning at the time of that accident,” Quinn said.
The Ohio law is modeled after one that was recently passed in Pennsylvania and nearly two dozen other states. Motorcyclists complained that often traffic signal sensors don’t respond to the weight of their bikes and they are left sitting at the light .
Quinn said intersection crashes are far too common now. “Now you’re going to have people who may not be paying attention as much and or they see a red light and they think this new law gives them the right to go through it which is does not.”
Thomas still questions the law.
“Sometimes common sense has to be the order of the day," Thomas said.