Is It Legal To Cut Through Parking Lots In New York?

Is It Legal In New York To Cut Through Parking Lots To Avoid Red Lights?

Why is the world is in such a hurry? I see signs of our fast paced society everyday, especially on the roadways. Cars passing on the right on the Thruway, drivers flashing lights to get the vehicle in front of them to move over. What's next? Cutting parking lots to avoid red lights?

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Yesterday, as I was sitting at an intersection waiting for the red light to change, I witnessed another driver avoid the red light by cutting through the Stewart's parking lot. How much time did he save? 5 seconds? He's lucky he didn't run someone over! I know, I'm sounding like the get off my lawn guy.

So this action sounds illegal to me, but is it? Truth is you can legally enter a parking lot and you are legally allowed to leave a parking lot safely, so what would be illegal?

Photo by Taylor Heery on Unsplash

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles traffic law states the following;

No person shall drive across or upon a sidewalk, driveway, parking lot or private property, or otherwise drive off a roadway, in order to avoid an intersection or traffic-control device.

It is ILLEGAL to cut through a parking lot to avoid an intersection. As a bonus tip according to Pierre Paul Driving, it is also illegal to block a driveway in New York State unless you are the owner or the building or a tenant of the building.