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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 275
Committee Substitute Favorable 3/18/25
Short Title: Failure to Yield Penalties. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 5, 2025
*H275-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO AMEND FAIL URE TO YIELD THE RIG HT-OF-WAY TO A BLIND OR 2
PARTIALLY BLIND PEDE STRIAN AND TO INCREA SE THE PENALTY FOR 3
FAILURE TO YIELD CAUSING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. G.S. 20-175.2 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 20-175.2. Right-of-way at crossings, intersections and traffic-control signal points; white 7
cane or guide dog to serve as signal for the blind. 8
At any street, road or highway crossing or intersection, where the movement of traffic is not 9
regulated by a traffic officer or by traffic -control signals, any blind or partially blind pedestrian 10
shall be entitled to the right -of-way at such crossing or intersection, if such blind or partially 11
blind pedestrian shall extend before him at arm's length a cane white in color or white tipped with 12
red, or if such person is accompanied by a guide dog. Upon receiving such a signal, all vehicles 13
at or approaching such intersection or crossing shall come to a full stop, leaving a clear l ane 14
through which such pedestrian may pass, and such vehicle shall remain stationary until such blind 15
or partially blind pedestrian has completed the passage of such crossing or intersection. At any 16
street, road or highway crossing or intersection, where t he movement of traffic is regulated by 17
traffic-control signals, blind or partially blind pedestrians shall be entitled to the right -of-way if 18
such person having such cane or accompanied by a guide dog shall be partly across such crossing 19
or intersection at the time the traffic-control signals change, and all vehicles shall stop and remain 20
stationary until such pedestrian has completed passage across the intersection or crossing. Any 21
person who fails to yield the right -of-way to a blind or partially blind pedestrian as required by 22
this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor." 23
SECTION 2. G.S. 20-160.1 reads as rewritten: 24
"§ 20-160.1. Failure to yield causing serious bodily injury; penalties. 25
(a) Unless the conduct is covered under some other law providing greater punishment, a 26
person who commits the offense of failure to yield while approaching or entering an intersection, 27
turning at a stop or yield sign, entering a roadway, upon the approach of a n emergency vehicle, 28
or at highway construction or maintenance shall be punished under this section. When there is 29
and causes serious bodily injury but no death resulting from the violation, the violator death is 30
guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor, which shall be fined include a fine of five hundred dollars 31
($500.00) and and, upon conviction, revocation of the violator's drivers license or commercial 32
drivers license shall be suspended for 90 days. 33
(b) As used in this section, "serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that involves a 34
substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or 35
protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty." 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 275-Second Edition
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective December 1, 2026, and applies to offenses 1
committed on or after that date. 2