Hartford to penalize drivers who “block the box”
Excerpt from Hartford Courant article. Those crosshatch patterns that have suddenly appeared at intersections around the city aren’t for decoration. And at a penalty of $117, they’re expensive for drivers to ignore. The newly painted lines are part of a city ordinance, passed in April by the city council. It’s built on the back of…
Excerpt from Hartford Courant article.
Those crosshatch patterns that have suddenly appeared at intersections around the city aren’t for decoration. And at a penalty of $117, they’re expensive for drivers to ignore.
The newly painted lines are part of a city ordinance, passed in April by the city council. It’s built on the back of the state’s “don’t block the box” law, signed by Gov. Jodi Rell in 2009.
It’s as simple a concept as it sounds: If you’re driving through a four-way intersection and traffic is backed up on the opposite side, you’re supposed to wait on your side, rather than proceed into — and subsequently block — the intersection to drivers heading in a perpendicular direction.
“We’ve been dealing with gridlock and the problems that come of it for a long time,” Mayor Luke Bronin said Thursday in announcing the policy, effective Monday. “We’ve put in place a new ordinance that makes it clear that if you ‘block the box’ you’ll pay a price, and it’s a steep price.”
Note from MTAC – By state law, “block the box” fines do not apply to tractor-trailers. If any member has a tractor-trailer unit cited for “blocking the box,” they should contest the citation, and also let MTAC know about it.