An Act to amend and reenact § 46.1-299, as amended, of the Code of Virginia, relating to devices signalling intention to turn or stop and rules therefor.
Volume 1968 Law 99
Volume | 1936 |
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Law Number | 45 |
Subjects |
Law Body
Chap. 45.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Section 52 of chapter 342 of the Acts
of the General Assembly of 1932, approved March 26, 1932, and designated
and cited as The Motor Vehicle Code of Virginia, as heretofore amended,
relating to the powers of local authorities. [H B 112]
Approved February 19, 1936
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That section
fifty-two of chapter three hundred and forty-two of-the Acts of the
General Assembly of nineteen hundred and thirty-two, as heretofore
amended, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:
Section 52. Powers of local authorities——Local authorities in cities
or towns shall have no power or authority to decrease any speed
limitation declared in this chapter or to enact or enforce any ordinance,
rule or regulation contrary to the provisions of this chapter, except
that such local authorities shall have power to provide by ordinance
for the regulation of traffic by means of traffic officers or semaphores
or other signalling devices on any portion of the highway where traffic
is heavy or continuous, or where in their judgment conditions may
require, and may prohibit other than one way traffic upon certain
highways and may regulate the use of the highways by processions
or assemblages.
Such local authorities may also, when and where conditions require:
(a) Adopt any such ordinances, rules and regulations not in con-
flict with the provisions of this chapter, as the proper local authority
shall deem advisable and necessary, and to repeal, amend or modify
any such ordinance, rule or regulation; provided, however, that such
ordinances, rules or regulations shall not be deemed to be violated if,
at the time of the alleged violation, the designation placed in con-
formity with this paragraph was missing, effaced, mutilated, or defaced,
so that an ordinary observant person, under the same circumstances,
would not be appraised of or aware of the existence of such rule.
Such authority may also, when and where conditions require, enact
ordinances, or adopt police regulations, requiring all vehicles to come
to a full stop at any street intersection other than a street which has
been designated as a part of the primary system of State highways in
any town having a population of less than thirty-five hundred accord-
ing to the United States census of nineteen hundred and twenty.
(b) Officers of the law, authorized or permitted under this chapter,
shall, by voice, hand or signal, direct all traffic, but shall not forbid or
prevent any one from proceeding or standing in a manner permitted
or required by law.
(c) Signals by traffic officers shall be as follows:
(1) By hand, to stop traffic, stand with shoulders parallel with
moving traffic, and with arms raised forty-five degrees above shoulder
toward moving lines of traffic, hand extended, palm toward traffic to
be stopped. Repeat movement with other hand to stop traffic from
opposite direction. By hand, to move traffic, stand so that shoulders
are parallel to line of traffic to be moved. Extend right arm and hand
full length, height of shoulders toward said traffic, fingers extended and
joined, palm downward, bring hand sharply in direction traffic is to
move. Face about and repeat the same movement to move traffic
proceeding from opposite direction.
(2) By whistle, one blast—moving traffic to stop; two blasts, traffic
in opposite direction to move; three or more short blasts, to warn of
approach of fire apparatus, or of an emergency, when all traffic shall
immediately clear the intersection and stop.
(d) Signals by lights or semaphores shall be as follows: Red
indicates that traffic then moving shall stop and remain stopped as
long as the red signal is shown. Green indicates that traffic shall then
move in the direction of the signal, and remain in motion as long as
the green signal is given.
Amber indicates that a change is about to be made in the directions
of the movement of traffic. When the amber signal is shown, traffic
which has not already entered the intersection, including the cross-
walks, shall stop, but, that which has entered the intersection shall
continue to move until the intersection has been entirely cleared.
When semaphores not in operation, the use of amber light indicates
need for caution.
(e) The authorities of counties in this State shall have no au-
thority to adopt any ordinances, rules and regulations concerning mat-
ters covered by this chapter of this act. All ordinances, rules and
regulations adopted by the authorities of any county in conflict with
the provisions of this subsection of this section are hereby repealed.
Provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall apply to
the authorities or the ordinances, rules and regulations adopted by
the authorities of any county which adjoins a city within or without
this State having a population of one hundred and twenty-five thou-
sand or more, provided such county has a trial justice, and, provided,
further, that the fines collected for the violation of such ordinances
shall be paid to the State when the arrest is made by an officer of any
division of the State government.
The governing bodies of cities and towns may by ordinance, when-
ever, in their judgment conditions so require, (1), prohibit the use of
motor trucks, except for the purpose of receiving loads or making
deliveries, on certain designated streets; (2), restrict the use of motor
trucks passing through the city or town, to such street or streets, as
may be designated in such ordinance; (3), prohibit the use of certain
designated streets by private carriers for hire as well as common
carriers, except for the purpose of receiving passengers or goods or
making deliveries.