This Is When You Can Legally Turn Left On Red In Illinois

Did you know you can actually turn left on red in Illinois? But only in certain situations.

One of the first things I remember learning in driving school was to not turn left on red. Sitting at a long traffic light is annoying enough. It's not as bad when you need to turn right but it can be a pain in the tail when you're in a hurry, you're needing to turn left, and the stupid light is just not turning green.

via GIPHY

But like with a lot of things in driving, there are certain exceptions. Iowa allows drivers to turn left on red in certain situations, and so does Illinois. It's pretty specific though, so follow me here:

If you're at a red light on a one-way and you're trying to turn left onto another one-way, you can go ahead and go without the light being green.

The Illinois General Assembly words that as:

...vehicular traffic facing any steady red signal may cautiously enter the intersection to turn right, or to turn left from a one-way street into a one-way street.

It's the same situation in Iowa. But for the record, as you're traveling this summer, not every state is cool with the left on red at all thing. According to Axel Addict, states that aren't fine with turning left on red at all include Connecticut, Missouri (Kansas City is an exception), New York City, North Carolina, Rhode Island, New Jersey, South Dakota, Maine, New Hampshire, and District of Columbia.