Sections
Article 1 General and Miscellaneous. 46.2-800 – 46.2-818.2
Article 1.1 . Toll Violations and Enforcement. 46.2-819 – 46.2-819.10
Article 2 Right-of-Way. 46.2-820 – 46.2-829
Article 3 Traffic Signs, Lights, and Markings. 46.2-830 – 46.2-836
Article 4 Passing. 46.2-837 – 46.2-844
Article 5 Turning. 46.2-845 – 46.2-847
Article 6 Signals by Drivers. 46.2-848 – 46.2-851
Article 7 Reckless Driving and Improper Driving. 46.2-852 – 46.2-869
Article 8 Speed. 46.2-870 – 46.2-883
Article 9 Railroad Crossings. 46.2-884 – 46.2-887
Article 10 Stopping on Highways. 46.2-888 – 46.2-893
Article 11 Accidents. 46.2-894 – 46.2-902.1
Article 12 Bicycles. 46.2-903 – 46.2-908.1:1
Article 12.1 . Low-Speed Vehicles. 46.2-908.2 – 46.2-908.3
Article 13 Motorcycles and Mopeds and All-Terrain Vehicles. 46.2-909 – 46.2-916
Article 13.1 . Golf Cart and Utility Vehicle Operation. 46.2-916.1 – 46.2-916.3
Article 14 School Buses. 46.2-917 – 46.2-919.1
Article 15 Emergency Vehicles. 46.2-920 – 46.2-922
Article 16 Pedestrians. 46.2-923 – 46.2-935
Article 17 Legal Procedures and Requirements. 46.2-936 – 46.2-943
Article 18 Arrest of Nonresidents. 46.2-944 – 46.2-944.1

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Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 46.2 > Subtitle III > Chapter 8 - Regulation of Traffic

  • Account: means any deposit or credit account with a bank including demand, time savings passbook, share draft, or like account, other than an account evidenced by a certificate of deposit;

    (2) "Afternoon" means the period of a day between noon and midnight;

    (3) "Banking day" means the part of a day on which a bank is open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its banking functions, but shall not include Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday;

    (4) "Clearing house" means an association of banks or other payors regularly clearing items;

    (5) "Customer" means a person having an account with a bank or for whom a bank has agreed to collect items, including a bank that maintains an account at another bank;

    (6) "Documentary draft" means any negotiable or nonnegotiable draft with accompanying documents, securities or other papers to be delivered against honor of the draft; or a draft to be presented for acceptance or payment if specified documents, certificated securities (§ Virginia Code 8.4-104

  • Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • All-terrain vehicle: means a motor vehicle having three or more wheels that is powered by a motor and is manufactured for off-highway use. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Alteration: means changes to an impounding structure that could alter or affect its structural integrity. See Virginia Code 10.1-604
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Autocycle: means a three-wheeled motor vehicle that has a steering wheel and seating that does not require the operator to straddle or sit astride and is manufactured to comply with federal safety requirements for motorcycles. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Bailee: means the person who by a warehouse receipt, bill of lading or other document acknowledges possession of goods and contracts to deliver them. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bicycle: means a device propelled solely by human power, upon which a person may ride either on or astride a regular seat attached thereto, having two or more wheels in tandem, including children's bicycles, except a toy vehicle intended for use by young children. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Board: means the Soil and Water Conservation Board. See Virginia Code 10.1-604
  • Carrier: means a person that issues a bill of lading. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
  • Commission: means the Intercollegiate Athletics Review Commission. See Virginia Code 30-359
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Consignee: means the person named in a bill to whom or to whose order the bill promises delivery. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Consignor: means the person named in a bill as the person from whom the goods have been received for shipment. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Construction: means the construction of a new impounding structure. See Virginia Code 10.1-604
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Delivery order: means a record that contains an order to deliver goods directed to a warehouseman, carrier or other person who in the ordinary course of business issues warehouse receipts or bills of lading. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Department: means the Department of Conservation and Recreation. See Virginia Code 10.1-100
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Director: means the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. See Virginia Code 10.1-100
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Document: means document of title as defined in the general definitions in Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Draft: means a draft as defined in § Virginia Code 8.4-104
  • Drawee: means a person ordered in a draft to make payment;

    (9) "Item" means an instrument or a promise or order to pay money handled by a bank for collection or payment. See Virginia Code 8.4-104

  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Ex officio: means service by virtue of one's office and includes voting privileges for ex officio members unless otherwise provided. See Virginia Code 1-215
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Good faith: means honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Goods: means all things that are treated as movable for the purposes of a contract of storage or transportation. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. Source: OCC
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Height: means the structural height of a dam which is defined as the vertical distance from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse measured at the downstream toe of the dam to the top of the dam. See Virginia Code 10.1-604
  • Impounding structure: means a man-made structure, whether a dam across a watercourse or other structure outside a watercourse, used or to be used to retain or store waters or other materials. See Virginia Code 10.1-604
  • in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
  • Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Issuer: means a bailee who issues a document except that in relation to an unaccepted delivery order it means the person who orders the possessor of goods to deliver. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • lane: means that portion of a roadway designed or designated to accommodate the forward movement of a single line of vehicles. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
  • Nonlegislative citizen member: means any natural person who is not a member of the General Assembly of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-225
  • Notary: means notary public. See Virginia Code 1-226
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Owner: means the owner of the land on which a dam is situated, the holder of an easement permitting the construction of a dam and any person or entity agreeing to maintain a dam. See Virginia Code 10.1-604
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • revocation: means that the document or privilege revoked is not subject to renewal or restoration except through reapplication after the expiration of the period of revocation. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the shoulder. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Safety zone: means the area officially set apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and that is protected or is so marked or indicated by plainly visible signs. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • School bus: means any motor vehicle, other than a station wagon, automobile, truck, or commercial bus, which is: (i) designed and used primarily for the transportation of pupils to and from public, private or religious schools, or used for the transportation of individuals with mental or physical disabilities to and from a sheltered workshop; (ii) painted yellow and bears the words "School Bus" in black letters of a specified size on front and rear; and (iii) is equipped with warning devices prescribed in § Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Semitrailer: means every vehicle of the trailer type so designed and used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that some part of its own weight and that of its own load rests on or is carried by another vehicle. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Shared-use path: means a bikeway that is physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic by an open space or barrier and is located either within the highway right-of-way or within a separate right-of-way. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Shipper: means a person that enters into a contract of transportation with a carrier. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
  • Shoulder: means that part of a highway between the portion regularly traveled by vehicular traffic and the lateral curbline or ditch. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Sidewalk: means the portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for use by pedestrians. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 1-206
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Superintendent: means the Superintendent of the Department of State Police of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
  • suspension: means that the document or privilege suspended has been temporarily withdrawn, but may be reinstated following the period of suspension unless it has expired prior to the end of the period of suspension. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Tow truck: means a motor vehicle for hire (i) designed to lift, pull, or carry another vehicle by means of a hoist or other mechanical apparatus and (ii) having a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of at least 10,000 pounds. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
  • Toy vehicle: means any motorized or propellant-driven device that has no manufacturer-issued vehicle identification number that is designed or used to carry any person or persons, on any number of wheels, bearings, glides, blades, runners, or a cushion of air. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Tractor truck: means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the load and weight of the vehicle attached thereto. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Traffic control device: means a sign, signal, marking, or other device used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, private road open to public travel, pedestrian facility, or shared-use path by authority of a public agency or official having jurisdiction, or in the case of a private road open to public travel, by authority of the private owner or private official having jurisdiction. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Traffic infraction: means a violation of law punishable as provided in § Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Trailer: means every vehicle without motive power designed for carrying property or passengers wholly on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle, including manufactured homes. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Truck: means every motor vehicle designed to transport property on its own structure independent of any other vehicle and having a registered gross weight in excess of 7,500 pounds. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
  • United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
  • Utility vehicle: means a motor vehicle that is (i) designed for off-road use, (ii) powered by a motor, and (iii) used for general maintenance, security, agricultural, or horticultural purposes. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
  • Vehicle: means every device in, on or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except personal delivery devices and devices moved by human power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Warehouseman: is a person engaged in the business of storing goods for hire. See Virginia Code 8.7-102