Could you get a ticket for running a yellow light in NC? What to know
As you approach an intersection where the traffic light has turned yellow, you’re faced with a decision: either stop as the light transitions to red or accelerate to pass through before it changes.
While stopping lowers the risk of a collision, many drivers opt to proceed in an effort to reach their destinations more quickly.
But could you get a ticket for running a yellow light in North Carolina? Here’s what state law says.
Can you get a ticket for running a yellow light in NC?
Drivers can get tickets for running yellow lights in some states, but North Carolina is not one of them, Carl Nagle, of Nagle & Associates in Winston-Salem told The Charlotte Observer.
Nagle explained that other states have “restrictive yellow light laws,” which require drivers to stop at yellow lights.
“North Carolina’s yellow light statute states that a yellow light is simply a warning to drivers that the light is about to change to red,” Nagle told The Observer.
However, if a light is red by the time you run it, you could face a fine of up to $100, and points on your driving and insurance records.
What if the light is flashing yellow?
When approaching an intersection with a flashing yellow light, drivers should “proceed through the intersection with caution, yielding the right-of-way to vehicles in or approaching the intersection,” state law says.
Drivers are required to stop and yield the right-of-way to approaching vehicles at intersections with flashing red lights, similar to a four-way stop, according to state law.
When is it legal to run red lights?
Cars must always stop at red lights, but there is a rule that allows motorcyclists to run red lights in North Carolina.
If a rider waits at a red light for at least three minutes and it doesn’t change, the state’s safe-on-red law says they can proceed through the light carefully if there are no other drivers approaching the intersection.
The law is in place due to traffic signal sensors not always recognizing motorcycles.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Could you get a ticket for running a yellow light in NC? What to know."
