                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CERTAIN VEHICLES EXEMPT FROM REGULATIONS IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS; EXCEPTIONS AND
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS (§ 46.2-920)

A. The driver of any emergency vehicle, when such vehicle is being used in the
performance of public services, and when such vehicle is operated under
emergency conditions, may, without subjecting himself to criminal prosecution:

   1. Disregard speed limits, while having due regard for safety of persons and
   property;

   2. Proceed past any steady or flashing red signal, traffic light, stop sign,
   or device indicating moving traffic shall stop if the speed of the vehicle is
   sufficiently reduced to enable it to pass a signal, traffic light, or device
   with due regard to the safety of persons and property;

   3. Park or stop notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter;

   4. Disregard regulations governing a direction of movement of vehicles turning
   in specified directions so long as the operator does not endanger life or
   property;

   5. Pass or overtake, with due regard to the safety of persons and property,
   another vehicle at any intersection;

   6. Pass or overtake with due regard to the safety of persons and property,
   while en route to an emergency, stopped or slow-moving vehicles, by going to
   the left of the stopped or slow-moving vehicle either in a no-passing zone or
   by crossing the highway centerline; or

   7. Pass or overtake with due regard to the safety of persons and property,
   while en route to an emergency, stopped or slow-moving vehicles, by going off
   the paved or main traveled portion of the roadway on the right.
   Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, vehicles exempted in this
   instance will not be required to sound a siren or any device to give
   automatically intermittent signals.

B. The exemptions granted to emergency vehicles in subdivisions A 1, 3, 4, 5,
and 6 shall apply only when the operator of such vehicle displays a flashing,
blinking, or alternating emergency light or lights as provided in &#xA7;&#xA7;
46.2-1022 and 46.2-1023 and sounds a siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn
designed to give automatically intermittent signals, as may be reasonably
necessary. The exemption granted under subdivision A 2 shall apply only when the
operator of such emergency vehicle displays a flashing, blinking, or alternating
emergency light or lights as provided in &#xA7;&#xA7; 46.2-1022 and 46.2-1023
and either (a) sounds a siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn designed to give
automatically intermittent signals or (b) slows the vehicle down to a speed
reasonable for the existing conditions, yields right-of-way to the driver of
another vehicle approaching or entering the intersection from another direction
or, if required for safety, brings the vehicle to a complete stop before
proceeding with due regard for the safety of persons and property. In addition,
the exemptions granted to emergency vehicles by subsection A shall apply only
when there is in force and effect for such vehicle either (i) standard motor
vehicle liability insurance covering injury or death to any person in the sum of
at least $100,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one
accident and, subject to the limit for one person, to a limit of $300,000
because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident,
and to a limit of $20,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of
others in any one accident or (ii) a certificate of self-insurance issued
pursuant to &#xA7; 46.2-368. Such exemptions shall not, however, protect the
operator of any such vehicle from criminal prosecution for conduct constituting
reckless disregard of the safety of persons and property. Nothing in this
section shall release the operator of any such vehicle from civil liability for
failure to use reasonable care in such operation.

C. For the purposes of this section, &#8220;emergency vehicle&#8221; means:

   1. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a
   federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer (i) in the chase or
   apprehension of violators of the law or persons charged with or suspected of
   any such violation or (ii) in response to an emergency call;

   2. Any regional detention center vehicle operated by or under the direction of
   a correctional officer responding to an emergency call or operating in an
   emergency situation;

   3. Any vehicle used to fight fire, including publicly owned state forest
   warden vehicles, when traveling in response to a fire alarm or emergency call;

   4. Any emergency medical services vehicle designed or used for the principal
   purpose of providing emergency medical services where human life is
   endangered;

   5. Any Department of Emergency Management vehicle or Office of Emergency
   Medical Services vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or operating in
   an emergency situation;

   6. Any Department of Corrections vehicle designated by the Director of the
   Department of Corrections, when (i) responding to an emergency call at a
   correctional facility, (ii) participating in a drug-related investigation,
   (iii) pursuing escapees from a correctional facility, or (iv) responding to a
   request for assistance from a law-enforcement officer;

   7. Any vehicle authorized to be equipped with alternating, blinking, or
   flashing red or red and white secondary warning lights under the provisions of
   &#xA7; 46.2-1029.2;

   8. Any Virginia National Guard Civil Support Team vehicle when responding to
   an emergency;

   9. Any vehicle operated by the Response and Recovery Coordination Branch of
   the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority&#8217;s Office of Emergency
   Preparedness, when responding to an emergency, provided that the operator of
   any such vehicle (i) has completed an initial emergency vehicle operators
   course from an approved course list prepared by the Department of Fire
   Programs, the Office of Emergency Medical Services, or an equivalent agency
   and (ii) recertifies as an emergency vehicle operator every two years; and

   10. Any vehicle operated by a mine rescue team that is certified as a mine
   rescue team by the Mine Safety and Health Administration under 30 C.F.R. Part
   49 when responding to a mine emergency, provided that the operator of any such
   vehicle (i) has completed an initial emergency vehicle operator course from an
   approved course list prepared by the Department of Fire Programs, the Office
   of Emergency Medical Services, or an equivalent agency and (ii) recertifies as
   an emergency vehicle operator every two years.

D. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal,
state, or local law-enforcement officer may disregard speed limits, while having
due regard for safety of persons and property, (i) in testing the accuracy of
speedometers of such vehicles, (ii) in testing the accuracy of speed measuring
devices specified in &#xA7; 46.2-882, or (iii) in following another vehicle for
the purpose of determining its speed.

E. A Department of Environmental Quality vehicle, while en route to an emergency
and with due regard to the safety of persons and property, may overtake and pass
stopped or slow-moving vehicles by going off the paved or main traveled portion
of the highway on the right or on the left. These Department of Environmental
Quality vehicles shall not be required to sound a siren or any device to give
automatically intermittent signals, but shall display red or red and white
warning lights when performing such maneuvers.

F. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal,
state, or local law-enforcement officer while conducting a funeral escort,
wide-load escort, dignitary escort, or any other escort necessary for the safe
movement of vehicles and pedestrians may, without subjecting himself to criminal
prosecution:

   1. Disregard speed limits, while having due regard for safety of persons and
   property;

   2. Proceed past any steady or flashing red signal, traffic light, stop sign,
   or device indicating moving traffic shall stop if the speed of the vehicle is
   sufficiently reduced to enable it to pass a signal, traffic light, or device
   with due regard for the safety of persons and property;

   3. Park or stop notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter;

   4. Disregard regulations governing a direction of movement of vehicles turning
   in specified directions so long as the operator does not endanger life or
   property; or

   5. Pass or overtake, with due regard for the safety of persons and property,
   another vehicle.
   				Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, vehicles exempted in
   this subsection may sound a siren or any device to give automatically
   intermittent signals.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 46-241.1; 1954, c. 356; 1956, c. 192; 1958, c. 541, §
46.1-226; 1966, cc. 350, 699; 1968, c. 89; 1974, c. 365; 1976, c. 24; 1977, c.
549; 1980, cc. 30, 354; 1981, c. 395; 1984, c. 539; 1985, cc. 209, 462; 1989, c.
727; 1992, cc. 33, 96; 1994, c. 69; 1995, c. 92; 2000, c. 120; 2002, c. 134;
2003, c. 115; 2005, c. 583; 2007, cc. 860, 908; 2011, c. 629; 2014, cc. 171,
800; 2015, cc. 502, 503; 2023, cc. 88, 89; 2025, c. 252.