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Accidents When Traffic Lights Are Malfunctioning: Who’s At Fault?

Under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, when power is out and/or traffic lights are malfunctioning, the intersection becomes an uncontrolled intersection. An uncontrolled intersection has no traffic lights, no stop signs, no yield signs, and no police officers directing traffic.

Under the Highway Traffic Act, every driver approaching an uncontrolled intersection shall yield the right of way to any vehicle that has already entered it from an intersecting road. In other words, drivers ought to treat an uncontrolled intersection as a four-way stop intersection.

If two vehicles arrive at the intersection at approximately the same time, the driver on the left shall yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right.