Turning On Red
Veh. & Traf. Law § 1111 — a right on red after stopping, unless a sign forbids it or the city has a million people or more
A full stop at the line. Facing a steady red light, a driver stops at the marked stop line, or if there is none, before the crosswalk, or if there is no crosswalk, at the point nearest the cross street with a view of its traffic, and stays stopped until a signal to proceed.
Right on red. After that stop a driver may turn right on a steady red, yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to other traffic lawfully in the intersection, unless a sign prohibits the turn. From a one way road onto another one way road, a left turn on red is allowed in the same way.
Not in a city of a million or more. Neither turn on red is allowed in a city with a population of one million or more, unless that city adopts a local law allowing it.
A steady yellow warns that the green movement is ending or that a red is coming, and traffic may still enter the intersection. A steady red arrow means the movement it shows may not be made.
Traffic turning on a green yields to other traffic and to pedestrians already lawfully in the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk.
Sources for this section (1)
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1111 — Traffic-control signal indications
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.