Arkansas continues to permit right turns on red at most signal-controlled intersections in 2025, provided drivers comply with specific legal and safety requirements. Under the Arkansas Code §27-52-107, when a vehicle is facing a steady red light, the driver must bring the vehicle to a complete stop before the crosswalk or intersection line. After stopping, the driver may cautiously enter the intersection to make a right turn unless there is a posted sign explicitly prohibiting such a maneuver. When making the right turn on red, all Arkansas motorists are required to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within the crosswalk or any other vehicles that might be lawfully approaching the intersection.
This procedure echoes longstanding rules from previous years and remains unchanged in the most recent 2025 legislative updates. The law’s language emphasizes that the privilege to turn right on red is never automatic. It is conditional on the absence of prohibitory signage and the completion of a full stop as a safety measure. If any sign at the intersection indicates “No Turn on Red,” or similar wording, drivers are legally bound to obey and remain stopped until the light turns green.
The Arkansas statute includes further guidance for left turns on red, but this allowance is strictly applicable only to vehicles traveling on a one-way street turning left onto another one-way street. In these scenarios, the same requirements—a full stop and yielding to pedestrians and incoming vehicles—apply. Otherwise, left turns on red are not permitted at regular intersections.
In 2025, Arkansas traffic law updates primarily focused on work zone safety and the implementation of doubled fines for violations in construction zones, rather than changes to intersection rules. Recent legislation—such as Act 327 and Act 209—concerned issues like fines in mobile work zones and use of green lights on maintenance vehicles, but the right turn on red law was neither restricted nor expanded. Arkansas continues to promote driver awareness, as reflected in the revised driver’s manual, emphasizing not just compliance with turn regulations but also heightened caution around pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles at intersections.
It’s important for drivers to remember that local ordinances or specific intersections may override the general right turn on red permission. Urban areas and busy pedestrian crossings sometimes post prominent signs to prohibit turns on red to increase safety. Failure to obey these signs in Arkansas is a citable offense and may result in fines or penalties.
Overall, Arkansas’s right turn on red rule remains straightforward in 2025: come to a complete stop, check for pedestrians, confirm that no sign forbids the movement, and proceed cautiously if it is safe and legal to do so. This approach aims to balance driver convenience with intersection safety, reaffirming the importance of adhering to both statewide rules and local regulations.
Sources
[1] https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-4/chapter-52/subchapter-1/section-27-52-107/
[2] https://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/office/motor-vehicle/recent-changes-in-the-law/
[3] https://ardot.gov/news/25-076/
[4] https://library.municode.com/ar/conway/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT8VETR_CH8.24RITURELI_8.24.01AL
[5] https://www.arkansashouse.org/news/post/30985/flashing-red-means-kids-ahead
