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2024 SESSION

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24105715D
SENATE BILL NO. 687 Offered January 18, 2024 A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-816.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to careless driving and infliction of injury or death on vulnerable road users; penalty. ---------- Patron-- Ebbin ---------- Referred to Committee on Transportation ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 46.2-816.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 46.2-816.1. Careless driving and infliction of injury or death on vulnerable road users; penalty.

A. As used in this section, "vulnerable road user" means a pedestrian; the operator of or passenger on a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, wheel chair or wheel chair conveyance, skateboard, roller skates, motorized skateboard or scooter, or animal-drawn vehicle or any attached device; or any person riding an animal.

B. It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to operate a motor vehicle in a careless or distracted manner such that the careless or distracted operation is the proximate cause of serious bodily injury as defined in § 18.2-51.4 to or the death of a vulnerable road user who is lawfully present on the highway at the time of injury or death.

C. A prosecution or proceeding under § 46.2-852 is a bar to a prosecution or proceeding under this section for the same act, and a prosecution or proceeding under this section is a bar to a prosecution or proceeding under § 46.2-852 for the same act.

2020, c. 1259; 2022, cc. 506, 507.

D. For purposes of this section, driving in a "careless manner" means operating a vehicle without taking the necessary care to look out for the safety of others using the road and includes driving too fast for the circumstances, or violating another provision of Title 46.2-800.

E. For purposes of this code section, driving in a "distracted manner" includes operating a vehicle while adjusting the radio or other equipment, eating or drinking, or participating in any other activity that diverts the attention of the operator away from the road or from paying full attention to their driving.