PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

If a traffic light isn’t working, it becomes a stop sign. You treat it like you would treat any other stop sign.

Doesn’t seem too complicated, does it? And yet last week, this fairly simple rule of the road was forgotten, ignored or completely misunderstood by many local drivers.

On many busy thoroughfares, social-media reports claimed that drivers were simply proceeding through non-functioning traffic lights as if they weren’t there. In Oakland, an enraged driver called 911 to complain about the volume of ignorant drivers — a call picked up by the popular Pittsburgh Scanner account.

Oakland. Blvd of the Allies at Bates Street. Caller said the traffic signal at this intersection has no power and that drivers are not correctly treating this intersection as a four way stop. Caller is upset.

— Pittsburgh Scanner (@pgh-scanner.com) April 30, 2025 at 7:36 AM

In Pittsburgh, where many drivers treat normal traffic disruptions as apocalyptic scenarios and nearly all driving laws are regarded as little more than helpful suggestions, we appear to need a reminder on this point. Therefore: Let me explain this in an unnecessarily slow manner.

You’re driving. You approach an intersection. There’s a traffic light, but it’s not on. So: You go to the point where you would stop if the light were red. Then you pretend that you’re at a stop sign. Were there other drivers at other sides of the intersection that got their first? They go ahead of you. Is it your turn? Proceed! Slowly and carefully.

This, apparently, was the part that was tripping a good number of people up locally: This is true even if it’s a very big intersection. This is true even if your part of the intersection is very busy and another part of the intersection is a tiny side street. If the light is out, it’s a stop sign now, no matter what else is going on. Everyone approaches, and then everyone takes a turn.

“But that will take forever,” you might say. Well … yes. Sometimes, when natural disasters happen, things take a bit longer. I don’t know what else to tell you. Be patient — you’ll get where you’re going.

“But that wouldn’t work on McKnight Road,” you might reply. “What — if a six-lane highway doesn’t have working traffic lights, then we all have to take turns and see if anyone in all of those lanes got there ahead of us?” Yup. This can be very difficult, admittedly. It requires a lot of focus and attention and caution. And yet: We’re all adults who have successfully obtained and maintained licenses to operate motor vehicles. We should be able to handle it.

The problem here isn’t the logistics; it’s still fairly simple (arrive, stop, wait your turn). The problem here is patience: We think that it’s going to be hard and cost us lots of time, so we ignore the rules and proceed. Unfortunately, that attitude makes traffic worse, not better. Aside from the inherent risks of blowing through an intersection like the stoplight simply vanished, chaos creates uncertainty — and uncertainty begets traffic, as people slow or stop to figure out what the hell is going on.

If you think you can’t handle that rule — if you truly believe that navigating a complex intersection without a stoplight is beyond your capabilities — don’t drive during or immediately after a bad storm. That’s good advice anyway; if you’re apprehensive, stay home, if at all possible.

Otherwise: This isn’t complicated. We should all be able to follow basic rules under difficult circumstances. Pittsburghers have never been known as particularly good drivers, but we shouldn’t wear that status as a badge of honor; we’re all smart enough to do better.