BOISE, Idaho — Think about the times you've been in the left-hand turning lane at an intersection with a flashing yellow arrow.
Some drivers will creep up into the intersection and wait for a break in oncoming traffic before making the turn. But if the light turns red, you've got a decision to make.
Stay put or back up?
"I just did that today." Mark Snyder, a community member said. "I went through the light, and I'm stuck out in the middle of the intersection... I'm like hurry! Let me get by, here, so I don't hold these people up."
Idaho State Police said drivers often get stuck in this situation when trying to get onto the interstate.
"Anytime you get stuck in the intersection, you made a bad choice to go," Robert Fenn, owner of Idaho Driving School, told KTVB.
Here's why - per state law, you are not allowed to be stopped in the intersection, according to ISP.
Not only does this create a dangerous situation, if you decide to wait your turn in the intersection, but you're taking the risk of getting stuck, with not a lot of options for what to do next.
If this happens to you, you need to stay in the intersection and wait until traffic clears up so that you can complete your turn. Most importantly, you should never back up.
"When a car backs up into me, it makes me feel like more stressed than I should be," Diamond Chester, a community member told KTVB. "And I don't have time to react."
You can be ticketed if you get caught getting stuck in the intersection. You can get a $90 ticket for locking the intersection, as well as a second $90 ticket for not obeying a traffic signal.
You should not creep up or enter the intersection unless you are sure you can fully make the turn, ISP said.
"It's just safer that way so you don't get stuck on a red light," Brent Moore, ISP Trooper for District 3.
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