{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/46.2-1001.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/46.2-1001.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/46.2-1001.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/46.2-1001.html"}],"law_id":79566,"edition_id":1,"section_id":79566,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1001","catch_line":"Removal of unsafe vehicles; penalty","history":"1982, c. 90, \u00a7 46.1-279.01; 1985, c. 561; 1988, c. 77; 1989, c. 727; 1990, cc. 20, 167; 1991, cc. 284, 416; 1993, c. 409; 1995, cc. 39, 458; 1996, cc. 24, 91, 144, 525; 1997, c. 35; 1999, cc. 68, 279; 2000, cc. 59, 112; 2002, cc. 142, 223, 263; 2003, cc. 82, 85.","full_text":"Any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer examined by a law-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspections and found to be operating with defective brakes, tires, wheels, steering mechanism, or any other condition which is likely to cause an accident or a breakdown of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer may be removed from the highway and not permitted to operate again on the highway until the defects have been corrected and the law-enforcement officer has found the corrections to be satisfactory. Such law-enforcement officer may allow any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer discovered to be in such an unsafe condition while being operated on the highway to continue in operation only to the nearest place where repairs can be safely effected and only if such operation is less hazardous to the public than to permit the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to remain on the highway.\n\t\tNo person shall operate a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which has been removed from service as provided in the foregoing provisions of this section prior to correction and proper authorization by a law-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspection procedures.\n\t\tFor the purpose of this section, the term “law-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspections” means those law-enforcement officers who have satisfactorily met the requirements for initial certification and maintenance of certification of driver\/vehicle inspectors as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Those law-enforcement officers certified to place vehicles out of service must receive annual in-service training in current federal motor carrier safety regulations, safety inspection procedures, and out-of-service criteria. The Superintendent of State Police shall be responsible for coordinating the annual in-service training. The agency administrator of the law-enforcement agencies employing law-enforcement officers certified to perform vehicle safety inspections shall provide the Department of Criminal Justice Services with verification that law-enforcement officers certified to perform vehicle safety inspections have met the requirements for initial certification and maintenance of certification of driver\/vehicle inspectors prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and satisfactorily completed the annual in-service training required by this section.\n\t\tEvery vehicle inspected by a local law-enforcement officer pursuant to this section and found to be free of defects which would constitute grounds for removal of the vehicle from service shall be issued a sticker as evidence of such inspection and freedom from defects. Such stickers shall be valid for 90 days. Any vehicle displaying a valid sticker shall be exempt from local or State Police inspections under this section. However, the fact that a vehicle displays a valid sticker shall not prevent any local or State Police officer from stopping and inspecting the vehicle if he observes an obvious safety defect. The Superintendent of State Police shall work cooperatively with local law-enforcement agencies of localities whose officers are authorized to perform inspections pursuant to this section to develop a standard sticker as provided for in this section and uniform policies and procedures for issuance and display of such stickers.\n\t\tHowever, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, before placing any vehicle out of service, the vehicle operator shall be allowed two hours to effect repairs to his vehicle. Such repairs may be performed at the site where the vehicle was inspected and found to be unsafe, provided the vehicle requiring repair is off the highway, where the repairs can be effected safely. If such repairs remedy the condition or conditions that would have caused it to be taken out of service, it shall not be taken out of service, but allowed to resume its operations. No such repairs, however, shall be allowed if the vehicle’s load consists of hazardous material as defined in \u00a7 10.1-1400.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":285105,"text":"Any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer examined by a law-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspections and found to be operating with defective brakes, tires, wheels, steering mechanism, or any other condition which is likely to cause an accident or a breakdown of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer may be removed from the highway and not permitted to operate again on the highway until the defects have been corrected and the law-enforcement officer has found the corrections to be satisfactory. Such law-enforcement officer may allow any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer discovered to be in such an unsafe condition while being operated on the highway to continue in operation only to the nearest place where repairs can be safely effected and only if such operation is less hazardous to the public than to permit the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to remain on the highway.\n\t\tNo person shall operate a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which has been removed from service as provided in the foregoing provisions of this section prior to correction and proper authorization by a law-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspection procedures.\n\t\tFor the purpose of this section, the term “law-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspections” means those law-enforcement officers who have satisfactorily met the requirements for initial certification and maintenance of certification of driver\/vehicle inspectors as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Those law-enforcement officers certified to place vehicles out of service must receive annual in-service training in current federal motor carrier safety regulations, safety inspection procedures, and out-of-service criteria. The Superintendent of State Police shall be responsible for coordinating the annual in-service training. The agency administrator of the law-enforcement agencies employing law-enforcement officers certified to perform vehicle safety inspections shall provide the Department of Criminal Justice Services with verification that law-enforcement officers certified to perform vehicle safety inspections have met the requirements for initial certification and maintenance of certification of driver\/vehicle inspectors prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and satisfactorily completed the annual in-service training required by this section.\n\t\tEvery vehicle inspected by a local law-enforcement officer pursuant to this section and found to be free of defects which would constitute grounds for removal of the vehicle from service shall be issued a sticker as evidence of such inspection and freedom from defects. Such stickers shall be valid for 90 days. Any vehicle displaying a valid sticker shall be exempt from local or State Police inspections under this section. However, the fact that a vehicle displays a valid sticker shall not prevent any local or State Police officer from stopping and inspecting the vehicle if he observes an obvious safety defect. The Superintendent of State Police shall work cooperatively with local law-enforcement agencies of localities whose officers are authorized to perform inspections pursuant to this section to develop a standard sticker as provided for in this section and uniform policies and procedures for issuance and display of such stickers.\n\t\tHowever, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, before placing any vehicle out of service, the vehicle operator shall be allowed two hours to effect repairs to his vehicle. Such repairs may be performed at the site where the vehicle was inspected and found to be unsafe, provided the vehicle requiring repair is off the highway, where the repairs can be effected safely. If such repairs remedy the condition or conditions that would have caused it to be taken out of service, it shall not be taken out of service, but allowed to resume its operations. No such repairs, however, shall be allowed if the vehicle’s load consists of hazardous material as defined in \u00a7 10.1-1400.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":14848,"edition_id":1,"name":"Vehicle and Equipment Safety, Generally","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12828,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:50:23","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:50:23","permalink":{"id":228601,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14848,"identifier":"1","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1","url":"\/46.2\/III\/10\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12828,"edition_id":1,"name":"Motor Vehicle and Equipment Safety","identifier":"10","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12827,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":228599,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12828,"identifier":"10","token":"46.2\/III\/10","url":"\/46.2\/III\/10\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12827,"edition_id":1,"name":"Operation","identifier":"III","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12770,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":228597,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12827,"identifier":"III","token":"46.2\/III","url":"\/46.2\/III\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12770,"edition_id":1,"name":"Motor Vehicles","identifier":"46.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","permalink":{"id":225289,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12770,"identifier":"46.2","token":"46.2","url":"\/46.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":56760,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1000","catch_line":"Department to suspend registration of vehicles lacking certain equipment; officer to take possession of registration card, license plates and decals when observing defect in motor vehicle; when to be returned","url":"\/46.2-1000\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1000","metadata":false},{"id":79566,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1001","catch_line":"Removal of unsafe vehicles; penalty","url":"\/46.2-1001\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001","metadata":false},{"id":82819,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1001.1","catch_line":"Special equipment required for converted electric vehicles","url":"\/46.2-1001.1\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001.1","metadata":false},{"id":70555,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1002","catch_line":"Illegal possession or sale of certain unapproved equipment","url":"\/46.2-1002\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1002","metadata":false},{"id":86371,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1003","catch_line":"Illegal use of defective and unsafe equipment","url":"\/46.2-1003\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1003","metadata":false},{"id":71468,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1004","catch_line":"Trademark or name and instructions required","url":"\/46.2-1004\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1004","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":56760,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1000","catch_line":"Department to suspend registration of vehicles lacking certain equipment; officer to take possession of registration card, license plates and decals when observing defect in motor vehicle; when to be returned","url":"\/46.2-1000\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1000","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":82819,"structure_id":14848,"section_number":"46.2-1001.1","catch_line":"Special equipment required for converted electric vehicles","url":"\/46.2-1001.1\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001.1","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/46.2-1001\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1982. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 90 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1982 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 13 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1985, chapter 561; in 1988, chapter 77; in 1989, chapter 727; in 1990, chapters 20 and 167; in 1991, chapters 284 and 416; in 1993, chapter 409; in 1995, chapters 39<\/a> and 458<\/a>; in 1996, chapters 24<\/a>, 91<\/a>, 144<\/a>, and 525<\/a>; in 1997, chapter 35<\/a>; in 1999, chapters 68<\/a> and 279<\/a>; in 2000, chapters 59<\/a> and 112<\/a>; in 2002, chapters 142<\/a>, 223<\/a>, and 263<\/a>; in 2003, chapters 82<\/a> and 85<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":66116,"section_number":"46.2-341.4","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/46.2-341.4\/"},{"id":68439,"section_number":"52-8.4","catch_line":"Powers and duties to promulgate regulations; inspection of certain records","order_by":null,"url":"\/52-8.4\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":84539,"section_number":"10.1-1400","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/10.1-1400\/"}],"permalink":{"id":228607,"object_type":"law","relational_id":79566,"identifier":"46.2-1001","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001","url":"\/46.2-1001\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/46.2-1001\/","token":"46.2\/III\/10\/1\/46.2-1001","dublin_core":{"Title":"Removal of unsafe vehicles; penalty","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 46.2-1001","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Any motor vehicle<\/span>, trailer<\/span>, or semitrailer<\/span> examined by a law<\/span>-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspections<\/span> and found to be operating with defective brakes, tires, wheels, steering mechanism, or any other condition which is likely to cause an accident or a breakdown of the motor vehicle<\/span>, trailer<\/span>, or semitrailer<\/span> may be removed from the highway<\/span> and not permitted to operate again on the highway<\/span> until the defects have been corrected and the law<\/span>-enforcement officer has found the corrections to be satisfactory. Such law<\/span>-enforcement officer may allow any motor vehicle<\/span>, trailer<\/span>, or semitrailer<\/span> discovered to be in such an unsafe condition while being operated on the highway<\/span> to continue in operation only to the nearest place where repairs can be safely effected and only if such operation is less hazardous to the public than to permit the motor vehicle<\/span>, trailer<\/span>, or semitrailer<\/span> to remain on the highway<\/span>.\n\t\tNo person shall operate a motor vehicle<\/span>, trailer<\/span>, or semitrailer<\/span> which has been removed from service as provided in the foregoing provisions of this section prior to correction and proper authorization by a law<\/span>-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspection procedures.\n\t\tFor the purpose of this section, the term “law<\/span>-enforcement officer certified to perform vehicle safety inspections<\/span>” means those law<\/span>-enforcement officers<\/span> who have satisfactorily met the requirements for initial certification and maintenance of certification of driver<\/span>\/vehicle inspectors as prescribed by the U.S. Department<\/span> of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Those law<\/span>-enforcement officers<\/span> certified to place vehicles<\/span> out of service must receive annual in-service training in current federal motor carrier safety regulations, safety inspection procedures, and out-of-service criteria. The Superintendent<\/span> of State Police shall be responsible for coordinating the annual in-service training. The agency administrator of the law<\/span>-enforcement agencies employing law<\/span>-enforcement officers<\/span> certified to perform vehicle safety inspections shall provide the Department<\/span> of Criminal Justice Services with verification that law<\/span>-enforcement officers<\/span> certified to perform vehicle safety inspections have met the requirements for initial certification and maintenance of certification of driver<\/span>\/vehicle inspectors prescribed by the U.S. Department<\/span> of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and satisfactorily completed the annual in-service training required by this section.\n\t\tEvery vehicle inspected by a local law<\/span>-enforcement officer pursuant to this section and found to be free of defects which would constitute grounds for removal of the vehicle from service shall be issued a sticker as evidence<\/span> of such inspection and freedom from defects. Such stickers shall be valid for 90 days. Any vehicle displaying a valid sticker shall be exempt from local or State Police inspections under this section. However, the fact<\/span> that a vehicle displays a valid sticker shall not prevent any local or State Police officer from stopping and inspecting the vehicle if he observes an obvious safety defect. The Superintendent<\/span> of State Police shall work cooperatively with local law<\/span>-enforcement agencies of localities whose officers are authorized to perform inspections pursuant to this section to develop a standard sticker as provided for in this section and uniform policies and procedures for issuance and display of such stickers.\n\t\tHowever, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, before placing any vehicle out of service, the vehicle operator<\/span> shall be allowed two hours to effect repairs to his vehicle. Such repairs may be performed at the site where the vehicle was inspected and found to be unsafe, provided the vehicle requiring repair is off the highway<\/span>, where the repairs can be effected safely. If such repairs remedy the condition or conditions that would have caused it to be taken out of service, it shall not be taken out of service, but allowed to resume its operations. No such repairs, however, shall be allowed if the vehicle’s load consists of hazardous material<\/span> as defined in \u00a7 10.1-1400<\/a>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nREMOVAL OF UNSAFE VEHICLES; PENALTY (\u00a7 46.2-1001)\n\nAny motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer examined by a law-enforcement officer\ncertified to perform vehicle safety inspections and found to be operating with\ndefective brakes, tires, wheels, steering mechanism, or any other condition\nwhich is likely to cause an accident or a breakdown of the motor vehicle,\ntrailer, or semitrailer may be removed from the highway and not permitted to\noperate again on the highway until the defects have been corrected and the\nlaw-enforcement officer has found the corrections to be satisfactory. Such\nlaw-enforcement officer may allow any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer\ndiscovered to be in such an unsafe condition while being operated on the highway\nto continue in operation only to the nearest place where repairs can be safely\neffected and only if such operation is less hazardous to the public than to\npermit the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to remain on the highway.\n\t\tNo person shall operate a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which has\nbeen removed from service as provided in the foregoing provisions of this\nsection prior to correction and proper authorization by a law-enforcement\nofficer certified to perform vehicle safety inspection procedures.\n\t\tFor the purpose of this section, the term “law-enforcement officer\ncertified to perform vehicle safety inspections” means those\nlaw-enforcement officers who have satisfactorily met the requirements for\ninitial certification and maintenance of certification of driver\/vehicle\ninspectors as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor\nCarrier Safety Administration. Those law-enforcement officers certified to place\nvehicles out of service must receive annual in-service training in current\nfederal motor carrier safety regulations, safety inspection procedures, and\nout-of-service criteria. The Superintendent of State Police shall be responsible\nfor coordinating the annual in-service training. The agency administrator of the\nlaw-enforcement agencies employing law-enforcement officers certified to perform\nvehicle safety inspections shall provide the Department of Criminal Justice\nServices with verification that law-enforcement officers certified to perform\nvehicle safety inspections have met the requirements for initial certification\nand maintenance of certification of driver\/vehicle inspectors prescribed by the\nU.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration\nand satisfactorily completed the annual in-service training required by this\nsection.\n\t\tEvery vehicle inspected by a local law-enforcement officer pursuant to this\nsection and found to be free of defects which would constitute grounds for\nremoval of the vehicle from service shall be issued a sticker as evidence of\nsuch inspection and freedom from defects. Such stickers shall be valid for 90\ndays. Any vehicle displaying a valid sticker shall be exempt from local or State\nPolice inspections under this section. However, the fact that a vehicle displays\na valid sticker shall not prevent any local or State Police officer from\nstopping and inspecting the vehicle if he observes an obvious safety defect. The\nSuperintendent of State Police shall work cooperatively with local\nlaw-enforcement agencies of localities whose officers are authorized to perform\ninspections pursuant to this section to develop a standard sticker as provided\nfor in this section and uniform policies and procedures for issuance and display\nof such stickers.\n\t\tHowever, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, before\nplacing any vehicle out of service, the vehicle operator shall be allowed two\nhours to effect repairs to his vehicle. Such repairs may be performed at the\nsite where the vehicle was inspected and found to be unsafe, provided the\nvehicle requiring repair is off the highway, where the repairs can be effected\nsafely. If such repairs remedy the condition or conditions that would have\ncaused it to be taken out of service, it shall not be taken out of service, but\nallowed to resume its operations. No such repairs, however, shall be allowed if\nthe vehicle’s load consists of hazardous material as defined in \u00a7\n10.1-1400.\n\nHISTORY: 1982, c. 90, \u00a7 46.1-279.01; 1985, c. 561; 1988, c. 77; 1989, c. 727;\n1990, cc. 20, 167; 1991, cc. 284, 416; 1993, c. 409; 1995, cc. 39, 458; 1996,\ncc. 24, 91, 144, 525; 1997, c. 35; 1999, cc. 68, 279; 2000, cc. 59, 112; 2002,\ncc. 142, 223, 263; 2003, cc. 82, 85.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}