Idaho Code
Idaho Code

Idaho Code § 49-801 (2026)

Obedience to and required traffic-control devices. 

✓ current as of May 2026
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Obedience to and required traffic-control devices. 

(1) The driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of any traffic-control device placed or held in accordance with the provisions of this title, unless otherwise directed by a peace officer, subject to the exceptions granted the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle by this title.

(2)  No provisions of this title for which traffic-control devices are required shall be enforced against an alleged violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation a device is not in proper position and sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person. Whenever a particular section does not state that traffic-control devices are required, the section shall be effective even though no devices are erected and in place.
(3)  Whenever traffic-control devices are placed or held in position approximately conforming to the requirements of this title, the devices shall be presumed to have been placed or held by the official act or direction of lawful authority, unless the contrary shall be established by competent evidence.
(4)  Any traffic-control device placed or held pursuant to the provisions of this title and purporting to conform to the lawful requirement pertaining to those devices shall be presumed to comply with the requirements of this title, unless the contrary shall be established by competent evidence.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1978–2021 · leading case: State v. Henderson, 756 P.2d 1057 (Idaho 1988).
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State v. Henderson, 756 P.2d 1057 (Idaho 1988). · cites it 4× “§§ 49-601 to 49-761A; and safe equipment, I.C. §§ 49-801 to 49-849. This statutory scheme is for the purpose of protecting citizens from incompetent drivers, negligent vehicle operation, financially irresponsible drivers, and unsafe vehicles.”
State v. Bennion, 730 P.2d 952 (Idaho 1986). · cites it 4× “Section 49-801 No change, except make sure that all remaining sections of Act changing misdemeanor references to infractions use same phraseology, preferably "shall be subject to," instead of "guilty.”
Stoddard v. Nelson, 581 P.2d 339 (Idaho 1978). · cites it 2× “Idaho Code § 49-801 et seq. contain lighting equipment requirements for all motor vehicles operated on Idaho highways.”
Warren v. Furniss, 861 P.2d 1219 (Idaho Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “Plaintiff explains that she offered the instruction as an amalgam drafted from I.C. § 49-801 (which requires drivers to obey traffic control signals), I.”
Martin v. Hackworth, 896 P.2d 976 (Idaho 1995). · cites it 2× “To address Hackworth’s violation of the posted speed limit, the trial court gave the following instruction, taken from I.C. § 49-801(1): Obedience to and required traffic control devices.”
State v. Schmidt, 825 P.2d 104 (Idaho Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 2× “…traffic may not cross through an intersection when facing a steady red signal at a traffic control light. See also I.C. §§ 49-801 and 49-802(3).”
Dabestani v. Bellus, 961 P.2d 633 (Idaho 1998). · cites it 2× “As provided in I.C. § 49-801(3), there was competent evidence in the form of the testimony of the department’s engineer on the sealcoating project that the speed limit was forty-five miles per hour, rebutting any speed signs to the contrary.”
State v. Jones (Idaho Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “§ 49-630(2) and impeding traffic, or staying in the right lane in violation of I.C. § 49-801. As to the extension of the stop, Jones argued that Officer Cox impermissibly expanded the stop into a drug investigation and prolonged the stop for a drug-dog sniff.”
— Idaho Code § 49-801(1) — 1 case
Martin v. Hackworth, 896 P.2d 976 (Idaho 1995). “To address Hackworth’s violation of the posted speed limit, the trial court gave the following instruction, taken from I.C. § 49-801(1): Obedience to and required traffic control devices.”
— Idaho Code § 49-801(3) — 1 case
Dabestani v. Bellus, 961 P.2d 633 (Idaho 1998). “As provided in I.C. § 49-801(3), there was competent evidence in the form of the testimony of the department’s engineer on the sealcoating project that the speed limit was forty-five miles per hour, rebutting any speed signs to the contrary.”
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