I’m back from Asheville, NC again. While surviving Hurricane Helene’s wrath, I noticed tons of drivers making mistakes as people tried to get out for food, water, and to check on loved ones. It’s important to understand what to do when a stop light is out to avoid creating bigger messes. 

What to do if a stop light is out 

In Asheville, NC so many stop lights lost power during the storm. Power couldn’t be restored to these traffic lights for days and even weeks. 

This proved that drivers simply have no idea what to do without them. Pedestrians and people walking their dogs were hit and killed in the aftermath of Helene while crossing the street. 

Also, because the stop lights were out, Asheville was placed under a curfew from 7 PM to 7 AM. This was to reduce accidents among other things like to deter looting. But Asheville referenced the inability of people to handle the traffic lights without power. 

So, when a traffic light doesn’t have power, treat the intersection like a four-way stop. That means coming to a complete stop and yielding to traffic that was there first. The car that approaches the intersection first has the right of way. 

If vehicles approach the intersection at the same time, the vehicle to the right has the right of way. A vehicle that is turning must yield to the traffic going straight. 

Pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks. You must yield to people crossing the street. Keep an eye out for people walking. Imagine surviving a deadly hurricane just to be hit by a car a few days later. 

Also, slow down and communicate with fellow drivers. Make eye contact, and wave at them. Wait until it’s safe to go. I saw big trucks just floor it through intersections, people going the wrong way, people making sudden U-turns and a serious lack of turn signals. 

Police officers often come to conduct traffic when a stop light is out. However, they were pretty busy rescuing survivors for weeks. This made most intersections around town like the wild west.