Bill redefining intersection would help Arizona drivers avoid tickets

PHOENIX — If state Rep. Chris Ackerley gets his way, more motorists will soon be able to escape tickets for running red lights.

The Sahuarita Republican said that’s not his goal. But he acknowledged it’s one of the side effects of his bid to conform Arizona law with 48 other states.

Here’s the change:

State law makes it illegal to enter an intersection after the light turns red.

But Arizona — along with only Alaska — defines the intersection as the line parallel with the curb. Put simply, if you can get your front bumper across that imaginary line before the light turns red, you can’t be ticketed for running a red light.

That’s why cities with red-light cameras position their sensors just past that imaginary line.

Nothing in HB 2593 would alter the law prohibiting entering an intersection after the red light. Instead, it would redefine what constitutes an “intersection” to extend that to the stop line, crosswalk or yield line, whichever comes first.

And what that would mean is any motorist whose front bumper crosses that first line before the light turns red would be legally home free, even if the light has changed by the time the vehicle crosses the imaginary curb line that now defines an intersection.

Ackerley said he believes that’s what drivers assume about the law.

“People are making the decision to stop here,” he said, pointing to the stop line painted across the road before the intersection.

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The other side of the equation, though, is that moving back the point at which someone is considered to have run a red light means a vehicle racing to beat it could still be in the intersection by the time cross traffic has a green light.

But state law already requires motorists to yield to any traffic already in the intersection, green light or not. And Ackerley said he presumes those responsible for traffic signals will make adjustments to the length of time the light is red all around to ensure that vehicles get a chance to clear the intersection before cross traffic is allowed.

There is one bit of fallout from the change.

Right now a motorist who stops just short of that imaginary line even with the curb — the current definition of intersection — cannot be cited for entering the intersection. But under his legislation, it would be a violation if the vehicle is even just a hair beyond the stop line, even if it remains far back from any cross traffic.

Ackerley, however, said he’s not concerned about that possibility.

“If you have traveled past the stop line, past obstructing the crosswalk, and are now sitting right there (just short of the line parallel with the curb), nobody’s going to stop right there in the real world,” he said. And there is a separate state law making it illegal to block a crosswalk.

Ackerley said he’s not trying to make it easier for motorists to escape citations.

“The bill would simply make sure it conforms with the rest of the country,” he said, including what is taught to people who learned to drive in other states.

His measure already has cleared the House on a unanimous vote and now awaits a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee.