Failing to Yield When Approaching Emergency Vehicle Laws

Reckless Driving For Failing to Yield When Approaching Emergency Vehicles

Va. Code Section 46.2-861.1 outlines when it is illegal for failing to yield for certain emergency vehicles.

A charge under this code section is most often brought in situations where the driver fails to move over into the far lane for a police officer who is conducting a stop of another vehicle. The police officer’s lights must be on and flashing. When approaching a police vehicle with its emergency lights flashing and conducting a traffic stop, the driver is supposed to move over into a lane not directly adjacent to the shoulder the police officer is stopped on. The driver is not required to do so if they cannot change lanes safely. Therefore, it can be a defense to this charge if there is heavy traffic and the driver cannot change lanes without causing an accident. In this case, the driver is supposed to slow down to a “safe speed for highway conditions.” This code section is subjective in many ways. Therefore, the facts of each individual case are important in determining the best strategy for a defense.

This code section does not apply for single lane highways.

The main purpose of this code section is to protect police officers who are conducting traffic stops. Every year police officers are killed by being hit by inattentive driver’s who fail to obey this traffic law. Because of this, judges tend to take this code section very seriously.

The attorneys at Welch & Wright have vast experience in these cases and have successfully fought and won these cases at trial.

Reckless Driving is a class 1 misdemeanor and can result in a jail sentence of up to 1 year, a license suspension for up to 6 months, and a fine of up to $2,500. This charge is a major moving violation and results in 6 demerit points being placed on the defendant’s driving record and stays on their record for 11 years. If the case resulted in someone’s death, then the judge may suspend the defendant’s driver’s license for up to 2 years.

The code section also includes a lesser includes offense that is a traffic infraction, not a misdemeanor. The punishment under this subsection may only be a fine. Whether this subsection applies in your particular case can be determined and discussed by one of the attorneys at Welch & Wright.