Say What? Here’s When You Can Legally Turn Left on Red in Illinois

Talk about The More You Know. Remember those public service announcements from back in the day?

via GIPHY

Not saying that finding this would qualify to have Eric McCormack from Will & Grace tell the world all about it but nonetheless, it's at least worth "knowing."

So while McCormack is hawking literature and pizza in this old commercial, you should be aware that yes, you can actually turn left on red and not get a ticket.

Here's how according to drivinglaws.org:

In Illinois, a motorist can do a left turn after stopping at a red light only from a one-way street onto another one-way street. Of course, motorists need to follow the normal right-of-way rules and proceed with caution when making the turn.

Need an example? Try this one on for size. If you're driving in Rockford and you're traveling west on Jefferson Street over the bridge riding up to North Main Street. When you hit the light, you can officially turn left. Got it? See the pic below.

There are a few other examples, just remember, if you attempt to try this at an intersection that doesn't have one-way traffic joining other one-way traffic, you'll more than likely receive a ticket.

And in case you're wondering, moving violations in Illinois for rolling a stop sign or blowing through a red will set you back $120.

Just be careful. You don't want to end up deciding between a pizza and a book for dinner because you got too many tickets.