You’ve Seen That Jerk Cutting Through Parking Lots To Avoid Red Lights, Is This Illegal In New York?

My son has been practicing driving with a permit on his way to his drivers license. As we have been hitting the highways and backroads of New York he asked a question that I couldn't answer for certain. I've been driving for 40 years, how do I not know the answer?

At an intersection we saw another driver avoid the red light we were at by cutting through a parking lot and my son asked "Is it legal to cut through a parking lot to avoid an intersection"?

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Logically it makes sense to say that it is illegal to cut through a parking lot to avoid an intersection 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?

According to casetext, the World's first reliable AI legal assistant, the answer isn't simple but it is clear.

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.