An intersection at the corner of Hillcroft and Southwest Freeway in Houston on Nov. 15, 2010, in Houston.
Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspap/Houston Chronicle via Getty Imag
Recently, while in a hurry to pick up my girlfriend from work, I needed to make a right turn at the red light ahead of me, but there were a few cars in my way. Thankfully, there was a gas station on the corner. Why should I wait for the light like a schmuck?
So I whipped the wheel and swung through the gas station. I stopped very briefly at the pump to look like I was maybe going to get gas, although let’s be honest, I wasn’t fooling anyone. And then I turned out of the parking lot, back onto the road, and drove off feeling like I had gotten away with murder.
Then my elation waned for a second. That good citizen, that angel on my shoulder, was nagging me. Sure, you shaved maybe seconds off of your journey. But does it really make you feel good? To be a cutter? How would your kindergarten teacher feel, seeing you now? I bet she’d be disappointed, the little voice told me.
It turns out that, in addition to having a stain on my conscience, I broke Texas law in the process. Because I’m a good, upstanding citizen with remorse, I called the cops. Specifically, I called Connor Caskey, an officer with the Fulshear Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit.
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Officer Caskey, who kindly did not book me, informed me that I had broken Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545.423, which states that a driver “may not cross or drive in or on a sidewalk, driveway, parking lot, or business or residential entrance at an intersection to turn right or left from one highway to another highway.”
“In simple terms, it means you can’t use the parking lot to get around a traffic control device,” Caskey told me. “Whether that’s a red light, a stop sign, a flashing yellow light, whatever it may be.”
No, it’s not because Texas wants to waste your time.
The reasoning for this is pretty clear. You’re not supposed to drive around in a parking lot, especially that of a private business, where people are walking or pumping gas. Cade Bernsen, an attorney at the Bernsen Law Firm in Beaumont, underscored that point.
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“The key concern for me is it puts people in danger,” Bernsen said. “If someone’s getting their gas or they’re walking in to buy some groceries and then all of a sudden, cars are darting through the parking lot trying to cut the corners.”
Caskey, the Fulshear officer, said that the department sees people cutting through parking lots to skip lights all the time, especially as Houston’s suburbs explode in growth, bringing more traffic.
“It’s one of those things where, ‘I saw my neighbor get away with it, so I’m gonna try to get away with it,’ and now everybody’s doing it,” Caskey said.
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Much like cruising in the left lane and other more obscure Texas traffic rules, most people may not even know they’re not breaking the law. You probably won’t go to jail over it, Caskey said, but you can get ticketed. Most likely, you’ll get a warning, though it depends on the officer’s discretion.
“Part of our job is community education. Traffic enforcement is to change driving behavior, so oftentimes we’ll talk with motorists and say, ‘hey, here’s the reason you were stopped,'” Caskey said. “You can be cited for it, and then have to go to court and explain why you did what you did to a judge or a jury.”
And, Bernsen said, is it really worth maybe saving a few seconds?
“I just think everybody just needs to take a breath. We’re all in this together,” Bernsen said. “You’re at a red light. Just wait your turn and put safety first.”
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