GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 275
Short Title: Failure to Yield to Blind Pedestrians/Penalty. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Cairns, White, Pyrtle, and Miller (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
March 5, 2025
*H275 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO YIELD THE RIGHT-OF-WAY 2
TO A BLIND OR PARTIALLY BLIND PEDESTRIAN. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 20-175.2 reads as rewritten: 5
"ยง 20-175.2. Right-of-way at crossings, intersections and traffic-control signal points; white 6
cane or guide dog to serve as signal for the blind. 7
At any street, road or highway crossing or intersection, where the movement of traffic is not 8
regulated by a traffic officer or by traffic-control signals, any blind or partially blind pedestrian 9
shall be entitled to the right-of-way at such crossing or intersection, if such blind or partially 10
blind pedestrian shall extend before him at arm's length a cane white in color or white tipped with 11
red, or if such person is accompanied by a guide dog. Upon receiving such a signal, all vehicles 12
at or approaching such intersection or crossing shall come to a full stop, leaving a clear lane 13
through which such pedestrian may pass, and such vehicle shall remain stationary until such blind 14
or partially blind pedestrian has completed the passage of such crossing or intersection. At any 15
street, road or highway crossing or intersection, where the movement of traffic is regulated by 16
traffic-control signals, blind or partially blind pedestrians shall be entitled to the right-of-way if 17
such person having such cane or accompanied by a guide dog shall be partly across such crossing 18
or intersection at the time the traffic-control signals change, and all vehicles shall stop and remain 19
stationary until such pedestrian has completed passage across the intersection or crossing. Any 20
person who fails to yield the right-of-way to a blind or partially blind pedestrian as required by 21
this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor." 22
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective December 1, 2026, and applies to offenses 23
committed on or after that date. 24