Signs, Signals & Right of Way
Stop signs, signals, right-of-way and red-light cameras — and where failing to yield stops being a fine and becomes reckless driving.
4 guides
Most Virginia tickets are written within a hundred feet of an intersection, and the Code spreads the rules across four sections that look interchangeable and are not. Section 46.2-830 is the general duty to obey a traffic control device, and it carries a defense written into the section itself. Section 46.2-833 covers signal lights. Section 46.2-820 governs who goes first where nothing controls the intersection at all, and § 46.2-821 covers the stop sign and the Yield sign.
Two things separate these pages from most of what is written about them. The first is that § 46.2-863 turns one particular failure to yield — entering a highway from a side road with traffic approaching within 500 feet, or ignoring a posted Yield sign — into reckless driving, a Class 1 misdemeanor rather than a fine. The second is that a red-light camera notice and an officer's red-light summons are different instruments with different consequences, and the section still quoted for cameras in most articles expired years ago.
All guides
- Fail to Stop at a Stop Sign: Which VA Code Section?
Fail to stop at a stop sign is charged under VA code § 46.2-821 — an infraction of up to $250 — unless § 46.2-863 makes it reckless driving instead.
- Fail to Yield Right-of-Way: What the VA Code Says
VA code fail to yield right-of-way covers two different charges: an infraction under §§ 46.2-820 and 46.2-821, or reckless driving under § 46.2-863.
- Failure to Obey a Traffic Sign in Virginia: Ticket Cost and Points
A failure to obey traffic sign ticket costs up to $250 in Virginia under § 46.2-113, or up to $350 for a signal, plus court costs and 3 or 4 demerit points.
- Virginia Red Light Camera Ticket Payment, and What It Is Not
A Virginia red light camera ticket payment is capped at $50 with no court costs, is not a conviction, and may not be used for insurance under § 15.2-968.1.