Traditional motorist logic and conduct dictates that when you come to a traffic light showing a red signal, you stop and wait. Unless you’re planning on making a right turn and there are no signs explicitly telling you not to do so, there is usually no wiggle room here. If you attempt to drive forward while the light is showing red, you’re breaking the law, and a police officer would have cause to pull you over. However, the matter can become a little murkier if you’re driving around on a motorcycle.
In the U.S., traffic lights work to detect your car using sensors that can also measure when the signals should change. Because of this, it’s possible for a motorcycle, which is a notably smaller vehicle than a car, to not be detected by said sensors. If a motorcycle pulls up to a traffic light and the signal never seems to change to green, this is a situation commonly known as a “Dead Red.” As this is a semi-common occurrence, there are actually laws in place that permit a motorcyclist to drive through a red light.
As of August 2025, 21 U.S. states have what are colloquially known as Dead Red Laws on the books. These states include, among others, Arkansas, Nevada, South Carolina, and Tennessee. While all of these states have Dead Red Laws, however, that doesn’t mean a motorcyclist is free to just run all of the red lights they come across. Every state with a Dead Red Law has its own particular rules and qualifiers that determine when a motorcycle would be legally permitted to run a red light.
Dead Red Laws vary depending on the state you are in
In the state of Arkansas, a motorcycle may legally proceed through a steady red light if the traffic light in question is clearly equipped with a sensor, and the motorcycle did not trip the sensor due to the vehicle’s size or an internal malfunction. Additionally, the motorcycle must come to a full and complete stop in front of the light, and the rider must exercise the necessary level of caution when passing through, yielding the way to any oncoming traffic. Basically, if you just drive full-speed through a red light, a Dead Red Law won’t protect you.
It’s also worth noting that, as with most individual state laws, Dead Red Laws are subject to change. Georgia, for example, had a Dead Red Law passed in 2015 by the state legislature, which would have allowed motorcycles to run red lights if the signal didn’t change after a reasonable period of time. This law, however, was vetoed by then-Governor Nathan Deal, so it never actually went into effect. On the other hand, the state of New Jersey used to be home to one of the most infuriatingly long red lights in the country, but motorists had no choice but to wait it out, as the state does not have a Dead Red Law. If you’re planning on running red lights on a motorcycle, you should double check your state’s current laws to make sure you actually have a leg to stand on.
