The question: If a shopping center parking lot, or other private road, only has the word “STOP” painted on the asphalt and no official stop sign, can I be ticketed for running a stop sign?

The answer: Although many parking lots are private property and the usual traffic laws aren’t enforceable, nobody should ever disregard the posted instructions, according to Lost Hills Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Brooks.

“Technically, you have to have the stop sign along with the painted stripe,” Brooks said. It would be unlikely, he said, that a ticket would be issued.

“In some shopping centers, those signs are merely advisory unless the shopping center (sign) is posted that says all traffic laws will be enforced. Essentially, it’s private property. The vehicle code doesn’t apply on private property unless it’s posted to say that it does.”

Traffic accidents in parking lots would become an epidemic if motorists ignored the posted signage.

If a private lot did have a sign that said traffic laws would be enforced, then the lot would have to meet the standards and regulations of the vehicle code, Brooks added. Private parties can choose to work with law enforcement or not, he said.

Despite the absence of stop signs, you must stop in malls Brooks said motorists must obey all traffic signs on private or public roadways because of safety reasons.

Many parking lots, he said, don’t have enforceable speed limits. But motorists must drive a safe speed that allows for heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

“There’s no speed limit in a private lot,” Brooks said. “However, the causal effect in an accident would be speeding because the safe speed would be 15 mph. (Speeders involved in an accident) couldn’t be cited for speeding, but they could be found at fault in an accident.”

Have a traffic-related question or concern? Send it to “Acorn Traffic Man” in care of the address on page 4 or e-mail your question to pic@theacorn.com. We’ll try to respond as soon as possible.