HB 275 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Failure to Yield Penalties.

HB 275 increases penalties for drivers who fail to yield the right-of-way to blind or partially blind pedestrians using a white cane (white or red-tipped) or a guide dog. It requires drivers to come to a full stop, leave a clear path, and remain stopped until the pedestrian has crossed at both uncontrolled intersections and signal-controlled crossings where the pedestrian is already moving when lights change. This bill directly affects drivers operating vehicles in North Carolina and blind/partially blind pedestrians using visible signals. The penalty for violating this law becomes a Class 2 misdemeanor, effective December 1, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Transportation

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 4, 2025 Last action Mar 27, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Edition 1 → Edition 2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to broaden its scope beyond just blind pedestrians to include any failure to yield causing serious bodily injury. The amendment adds a new section creating specific penalties for failure to yield offenses that result in serious bodily injury, while maintaining the original misdemeanor penalty for standard violations. The effective date remains December 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from only covering failure to yield to blind or partially blind pedestrians to also covering any failure to yield offense that causes serious bodily injury.

SCOPE

Added new Section 2 amending G.S. 20-160.1 to establish penalties for failure to yield causing serious bodily injury, including a Class 2 misdemeanor with a $500 fine and 90-day license suspension.

ENFORCEMENT

Modified the bill title and short title from 'Failure to Yield to Blind Pedestrians/Penalty' to 'Failure to Yield Penalties' to reflect the broader scope of offenses covered.

TECHNICAL

Removed specific sponsor names and committee referral details, likely due to procedural changes during the legislative process.

DEFINITION

Added definition of 'serious bodily injury' to include substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted disfigurement, or protracted loss of bodily function.

Floor votes · House Mar 26, 2025

How they voted

112–0

Passed · 9 other

Total votes 121

Mar 26, 2025

D Democratic46

43 Yea 3

93% Yea

I Independent2

2 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican73

67 Yea 6

91% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 27, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed 3rd Reading

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav

lower

Mar 18, 2025

Committee

Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Mar 18, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav Com Substitute

lower

Mar 5, 2025

Committee

Ref to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

Filed

lower

3 primary · 25 co-sponsors