Is Running A Parking Lot Stop Sign Really Illegal In New Jersey?

Have you ever been cruising through a parking lot in the Garden State, whether it's a mall, shopping center, or strip mall only to realize you're on auto-pilot and just blew through one of those little parking lot stop signs?

You may start to go into panic mode.

Get our free mobile app

You start to think a ticket could be coming your way because you blew a stop sign, and you start to sweat hoping there wasn't a cop parked there watching you slip up.

But do you really have to panic?

Is it actually illegal to run a stop sign in a parking lot in New Jersey?

Jersey has a lot of laws when it comes to driving, but parking lot stop signs seem to be a bit of a grey area.

Is It Illegal To Run A Stop Sign In A Parking Lot In New Jersey?

I just want to throw this out there right away, if you're on the road or driving through a residential area and you see a stop sign, you must come to a full stop.

Simple as that.

However, let's say you're driving through the parking lot of the Ocean County Mall and blow through one of those parking lot stop signs.

Let's say you were the only person near the intersection and you said "Eh, I'm just going". Could you get a ticket?

According to Times Union, if the stop sign is on private property like a mall, shopping center, or movie theatre parking lot then technically a cop can't ticket you since it's private property.

Answers also came through on Quora echoing the sentiment that so long as you're on private property it would be on the owner to monitor the stop signs, not the police.

That being said it still isn't a great idea.

Get our free mobile app

Let's say you get into an accident while driving through a parking lot stop sign, well, then you're the one who's at fault for that accident.

Long and short, sure technically you can run a stop sign in a parking lot, but it's just easier to take the 5 seconds and slow down, stop, and then proceed with caution.