Do Traffic Laws Apply to Parking Lots?

Posted Wednesday, November 8, 2017 by Andrew Charles Huff

A friend of mine asked me the other day about what laws apply to vehicles moving around a parking lot versus a regular public road. For example, can you be ticketed for running a stop sign in a parking lot?

Traffic laws such as stop signs and other common violations in public parking lots are treated as if they were committed on private property. In other words, these violations are not enforceable as traffic infractions on private property like parking lots. So you can’t be ticketed for running a stop sign in a parking lot, but if you hit a pedestrian or another car after ignoring a stop sign, it would increase your liability for the accident and any injuries that result. You can also be arrested for DUI, Reckless Driving or Negligent Driving-2nd Degree in a parking lot.