Now that Hurricane Irma has passed and curfew has been lifted, people are back on the roads. However, power isn't back on in every area, so it's very likely, in the next couple of days, that you'll approach a traffic signal blinking red. When this happens, it seems like the population is divided into drivers who are confident and uncertain in the rules of the road, while everyone is anxious to proceed.
Your safety is important to us, so we want to share with you the correct way to maneuver a traffic light that's not working, according to Florida law.
Florida Statute 316.1235 states as follows:
Vehicle approaching intersection in which traffic lights are inoperative.—The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection in which the traffic lights are inoperative shall stop in the manner indicated in s. 316.123(2) [see below] for approaching a stop intersection. In the event that only some of the traffic lights within an intersection are inoperative, the driver of a vehicle approaching an inoperative light shall stop in the above-prescribed manner. A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in chapter 318.
Florida Statute 316.123(2) states:
(b) At a four-way stop intersection, the driver of the first vehicle to stop at the intersection shall be the first to proceed. If two or more vehicles reach the four-way stop intersection at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.
