Red Light and Traffic-Control Device Tickets in Pennsylvania

What the offense actually is.

Section 3111, 'Obedience to traffic-control devices,' is the catch-all statute requiring drivers to obey official signs, signals, and markings on Pennsylvania roads. It is broad by design — stop signs, yield signs, lane-control markings, and posted regulatory signage all fall under it unless a more specific section applies. Because plain § 3111 does not appear anywhere in the § 1535 point schedule, a conviction under it alone adds zero points to your record, even though it is still a citation with a fine attached.

Section 3112, 'Traffic-control signals,' is narrower and deals specifically with red, yellow, and green signal indications at intersections. A violation of § 3112(a)(3)(i) or (ii) — entering or failing to stop for a red light — carries 3 points under the PennDOT schedule. That is the same point value as several more serious moving violations, so an officer's decision to cite § 3112 rather than plain § 3111 has real consequences for your license.

A related section, § 3111.1, addresses devices that warn of hazardous conditions ahead — things like flashing beacons at a dangerous curve or intersection — and carries 2 points if violated. § 3114(a)(1), failure to stop for a flashing red light, carries 3 points, the same as a full red-signal violation. Each of these lives in a different part of the statute with a different point consequence, and officers do not always cite the section that most precisely matches what actually happened.

The fine structure for § 3111(a.1)(1) is also unusual: it sets a flat $150 fine and expressly forbids adding the court costs or surcharges normally allowed under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.1 or 75 Pa.C.S. § 6506. The money is split, with $25 going toward the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund under 42 Pa.C.S. § 3733(a) and the remainder to the Public Transportation Trust Fund — a detail that matters if your court paperwork shows extra costs tacked on.

What a conviction costs.

The practical stakes on these tickets are almost entirely about which section applies. A § 3111 conviction for something like a stop-sign or lane-marking violation leaves your point total untouched, while a § 3112(a.3) red-light conviction adds 3 points that count toward the 6-point hearing threshold and the 11-point suspension threshold under §§ 1538 and 1539. Two or three of these tickets in a short window can put a driver within range of a PennDOT points hearing even without any other violations on the record.

Insurance carriers also treat 'ran a red light' very differently from a generic device citation when they see the conviction code, even though both may show up on a driving record pulled from the same incident. Getting the charge amended to the correct, lower-point section — or dismissed outright on a legibility or visibility defense — is often the single biggest lever available in these cases, and it is worth pursuing before agreeing to plead guilty as charged.

For the full point schedule and suspension thresholds, see the PA license points & suspension guide. If a magisterial district judge has already found you guilty, you have 30 days to file a summary appeal for a new trial at the Court of Common Pleas.