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Traffic bill being proposed in Utah Legislature could allow drivers to pass through red lights — as long as no one else is around

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune file photo) In a long photographic exposure, car and bus taillights and headlights draw long red and white lights during evening traffic patterns along State Street, Jan. 10, 2019. Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, is proposing a bill in Utah Legislature that would allow drivers to proceed through a red light if there’s no other vehicle or pedestrian around.

Under a bill being proposed in the Utah Legislature, motorists would be able to drive through a red light, as long as it’s safe.

Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, is proposing House Bill 151. It would allow drivers to proceed through a red light if there’s no other vehicle or pedestrian around, according to FOX 13. It also only applies to roads with speeds less than 55 miles per hour.

That’s not the only traffic bill under consideration by the Utah Legislature this year. Sen. Dan Hemmert, R-Orem, has filed Senate Bill 80, which would make it a traffic infraction if someone’s vehicle is hanging out in the middle of an intersection when the light changes.

Those traffic jams that block intersections are particularly visible in cities during morning and afternoon commutes, where people try to get through the light and it changes on them, clogging traffic in the other direction. SB80 would make it an infraction if a driver blocks other cars or pedestrians.

Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are content-sharing partners.