Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Rules of the Road

There comes a time in every driver’s life when the light turns yellow at the worst possible moment and the decision has to be made: keep going or slam on the brakes. The root of the problem in this situation is that it is hard to calculate in a split-second whether or not the failure to stop will constitute running a red light and lead to a possible citation. Having to make this decision is frustrating and usually boils down to whether or not the driver thinks a policeman may be nearby. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals recently heard a case that may shed some light on this vehicular vexation.

In a case styled State v. Mowery, the Court of Criminal Appeals was faced with the question of whether or not the defendant was guilty of failing to obey a traffic signal under Tenn. Code Ann. Section 55-8-110(a)(1) where he had entered the intersection to turn left when the light was green, properly yielded to oncoming traffic, and then turned left when the way was clear although the light facing him had already turned red. The court held that the turn was legal unless there was some sort of signage at the intersection that prohibited the turn, which in this case, there was not.

Since the defendant entered the intersection when the light was green and then yielded to oncoming traffic before proceeding through the light, which was red by that time, his maneuver was legal. Thus, although such a maneuver gives the appearance of a driver failing to obey traffic signals, it is in fact a legal maneuver because the defendant began making the move when the light was green. This ruling would seem to indicate that the conditions pertaining to the beginning of the maneuver control whether or not proceeding through a traffic light constitutes failure to obey a traffic signal rather than the conditions pertaining to the end of the maneuver. Regardless, as skilled Knoxville traffic violation defense lawyers, we advocate that all drivers should always proceed through intersections with caution, keep a proper lookout for oncoming vehicles, and not feel entitled to press their luck in a dangerous situation just because they have the right of way or are making a legal maneuver.

Source: (State v. Mowery, 34 TAM 42-26, 8/19/09, Nashville, Glenn, 3 pages.)