Power Outages and Signal Lights

Power outages are unexpected and can occur at any time.  Oftentimes, under these conditions, a traffic control signal will lose power and "black out."  The California Vehicle Code section 21800(d)(1) states: “The driver of any vehicle approaching an intersection which has official traffic control signals that are inoperative shall stop at the intersection, and may proceed with caution when it is safe to do so."

In other words, treat an intersection where the signal lights are not operating as if you are approaching an intersection with stop sign controls.

We cannot stress enough that blacked out intersections are extremely dangerous; many people either ignore "blacked out" intersections or see them as an opportunity to keep on driving.  Once again, PROCEED WITH CAUTION!