Dark Signal at a Four-Way After the Storm
Just after sunset on a windy November evening in Boise, you are westbound on a two-lane arterial posted 30 mph. A storm has taken out power to the intersection ahead: the signal head is completely dark and the streetlight above it is out. About 150 feet before the marked crosswalk you register the whole scene at once - a pedestrian in a dark jacket waiting at the near corner, a cyclist with a blinking red light riding in your lane about 60 feet ahead, and a pickup truck across the intersection creeping forward. A left-turn lane for opposing traffic is empty. Your passenger says, "The light's out, so just go - first one through wins." The intersection is a plain four-way with no stop signs on any approach. Your speedometer reads 30 mph and you have not touched the brake.
1. What does the dark signal legally mean at this intersection, and how do you sort out right-of-way among you, the pickup, the cyclist, and the pedestrian?
Read the worked answer
A signal that is dark because of a power failure is not an invitation to proceed. Idaho treats a signalized intersection with a non-working signal like an all-way stop: every driver must stop, and the first vehicle to come to a complete stop goes first. If two vehicles stop at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. A vehicle turning left yields to traffic going straight or turning right. That ordering defeats your passenger's "first one through wins" theory - arrival order after a full stop decides it, not momentum.
The pedestrian changes the analysis. Once she steps into the marked crosswalk, she has the right-of-way regardless of vehicle order, so you wait. The cyclist is treated as vehicle traffic for right-of-way purposes, but you should not crowd or pass a cyclist inside an intersection; stop behind the bike rather than beside it. The pickup's "creeping" forward does not establish priority - it has not stopped, and you should not assume it will.
2. Walk through your next 10 seconds: speed, braking, lane position, and how you handle the cyclist.
Read the worked answer
At 30 mph you are covering about 44 feet per second, so 150 feet is roughly 3.4 seconds of travel - enough only if you act immediately. Typical total stopping distance at 30 mph on dry pavement, including about 1.5 seconds of reaction time, runs around 110–125 feet. You therefore have little margin: release the accelerator and brake smoothly now, not at the crosswalk.
Aim to stop behind the stop line or crosswalk, and behind the cyclist if the bike reaches the line first - do not pull alongside and squeeze it toward the curb. Keep your wheels straight while waiting so a rear-end hit will not push you into the pedestrian. Once stopped, take your turn in the correct order, yield to the pedestrian, and proceed only after the cyclist has cleared your path and you have confirmed the pickup is actually stopping.
3. The streetlight is out and the pedestrian is wearing dark clothing. What adjustments matter here beyond the legal right-of-way?
Read the worked answer
Legal priority does not guarantee that other drivers see the pedestrian or see you. With the streetlight out, visibility is far below normal and dark clothing gives almost no contrast; a pedestrian can be effectively invisible beyond about 100–150 feet in low beams. That is one reason your 30 mph speed is already marginal in this setting.
Practical adjustments: use low beams rather than parking lights, scan the corners and the crosswalk edges rather than staring at the dead signal, and cover the brake as you approach. Do not flash your high beams at the pickup as a "go" signal - it can be read as an invitation and can cause a collision. After you stop, make eye contact with the pedestrian and confirm the other vehicles have actually halted before you move; a dark intersection rewards a second look, not assertiveness.