Are you ‘rat running?’ What KY law says about cutting through parking lots to skip a light
It’s something you may have done to save time, but could end up costing you money: cutting across a parking lot or down a side street to avoid a long wait at a red light.
“Rat running,” as it’s commonly called, is controversial and in many states illegal when it’s done to avoid traffic signals. Aside from being discourteous to other drivers, the practice can potentially put pedestrians at risk and cause traffic jams on otherwise quiet, residential streets drivers use as cut-throughs.
But is it illegal in Lexington or Kentucky more broadly? While there doesn’t appear to be one law that specifically and explicitly targets rat running, a few laws may apply. To get at this legal question, we consulted local law enforcement, including the Lexington Police Department. Here’s what we learned.
Is it legal to cut through a parking lot to avoid a red light in KY?
As we explored in a previous piece concerning whether you can legally drive around with your dog in your lap, it’s long been established by Kentucky law drivers must operate their vehicles in a “careful manner,” specifically with “regard for the safety and convenience of pedestrians and other vehicles.”
So if you’re zipping through a parking lot to save time and you hit a pedestrian, there’s a case to be made that you weren’t being a careful driver as the law requires. Additionally, rat runs can create traffic jams, which in turn inconveniences other drivers and residents who use and live on those side streets rat runners use.
More specifically, KRS 189.231 requires, “the driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of any traffic control device applicable thereto unless otherwise directed by a traffic or police officer.” The one exception is for drivers of emergency vehicles.
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Another law, KRS 189.330, lays out the ways in which drivers are supposed to interact with traffic signals. Specifically, a driver who wants to turn must do the following:
In the case of right turns, approach for a right turn and the right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
For left turns, “approach the turn in the extreme left-hand lane lawfully available to traffic moving in the direction of travel of such vehicle. Whenever practicable, the left turn shall be made to the left of the center of the intersection and so as to leave the intersection or other location in the extreme right-hand lane lawfully available to traffic moving in the same direction as such vehicle on the roadway being entered.”
Notably, there’s no mention of an exception that allows cutting corners to get around a red light. So, the general takeaway is state law requires drivers to interact with red lights in the usual way, unless directed otherwise by police or a traffic control officer.
Are there any local laws in Lexington that prohibit rat runs?
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Code of Ordinances has language similar to state law about how drivers should handle turns at intersections. Other provisions of the local ordinances could also apply.
For one, local law establishes drivers have a responsibility to exercise “due care” on the roads.
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Section 18-102 of the code of ordinances explains, “Every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary and shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any confused or incapacitated person upon a roadway.”
Additionally, under Section 18-89, drivers emerging from alleyways or private driveways are required to yield to pedestrians and vehicles that have the right-of-way.
The provision reads as follows: “The driver of a vehicle emerging from an alley, driveway or building shall stop such vehicle immediately prior to driving onto a sidewalk or onto the sidewalk area extending across any alleyway, yielding the right-of-way to any pedestrian as may be necessary to avoid collision, and upon entering the roadway shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching on such roadway.”
Do you have a question about traffic laws in Kentucky? Reach out to our service journalism team via the Know Your Kentucky form below or email us at ask@herald-leader.com.
