Monday, October 13, 2008
The General Assembly is not in session.
Tracking Virginia’s General Assembly
since 2007.
HB1677: Motor vehicles; eluding police officer.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 46.2-817 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 46.2-817. Disregarding signal by law-enforcement officer to stop; eluding police; penalties.
A. Any person who, having received a visible or audible signal
from any law-enforcement officer to bring his motor vehicle to a stop, drives
such motor vehicle in a willful and wanton disregard of such signal or who
attempts to escape or elude such law-enforcement officer, is guilty of a Class 3 1
misdemeanor. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of
this subsection if the defendant shows he reasonably believed he was being
pursued by a person other than a law-enforcement officer.
B. Any person who, having received a visible or audible signal from any law-enforcement officer to bring his motor vehicle to a stop, drives such motor vehicle in a willful and wanton disregard of such signal so as to interfere with or endanger the operation of the law-enforcement vehicle or endanger a person is guilty of a Class 6 felony. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of this subsection if the defendant shows he reasonably believed he was being pursued by a person other than a law-enforcement officer.
C. When any person is convicted of an offense under this section, in addition to the other penalties provided in this section, the driver's license of such person shall be suspended by the court for a period of not less than thirty days nor more than one year. However, in any case where the speed of such person is determined to have exceeded the maximum allowed by twenty miles per hour, his driver's license shall be suspended by the court trying the case for a period of not less than ninety days. In case of conviction and suspension, the court or judge shall order the surrender of the license to the court, which shall dispose of it in accordance with the provisions of § 46.2-398.
Additional Data
Explanation
This is the actual text of the bill — the legislation itself. Generally this is amending existing law, proposing the addition or removal of words from laws that are already on the books.
Words that are highlighted in yellow are
proposed additions, and words that are crossed out in
red are proposed removals.
The numbers with the § symbol before them are references to existing laws, and if you click on them they’ll take you to that part of the law on the state's website.