AN ACT to amend failure to yield the right‑of‑way to a blind or partially blind pedestrian and to increase the penalty for failure to yield causing serious bodily injury.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑175.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑175.2.  Right‑of‑way at crossings, intersections and traffic‑control signal points; white cane or guide dog to serve as signal for the blind.

At any street, road or highway crossing or intersection, where the movement of traffic is not regulated by a traffic officer or by traffic‑control signals, any blind or partially blind pedestrian shall be entitled to the right‑of‑way at such crossing or intersection, if such blind or partially blind pedestrian shall extend before him at arm's length a cane white in color or white tipped with red, or if such person is accompanied by a guide dog. Upon receiving such a signal, all vehicles at or approaching such intersection or crossing shall come to a full stop, leaving a clear lane through which such pedestrian may pass, and such vehicle shall remain stationary until such blind or partially blind pedestrian has completed the passage of such crossing or intersection. At any street, road or highway crossing or intersection, where the movement of traffic is regulated by traffic‑control signals, blind or partially blind pedestrians shall be entitled to the right‑of‑way if such person having such cane or accompanied by a guide dog shall be partly across such crossing or intersection at the time the traffic‑control signals change, and all vehicles shall stop and remain stationary until such pedestrian has completed passage across the intersection or crossing. Any person who fails to yield the right‑of‑way to a blind or partially blind pedestrian as required by this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑160.1 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑160.1.  Failure to yield causing serious bodily injury; penalties.

(a)        Unless the conduct is covered under some other law providing greater punishment, a person who commits the offense of failure to yield while approaching or entering an intersection, turning at a stop or yield sign, entering a roadway, upon the approach of an emergency vehicle, or at highway construction or maintenance shall be punished under this section. When there is and causes serious bodily injury but no death resulting from the violation, the violator death is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor, which shall be fined include a fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) and and, upon conviction, revocation of the violator's drivers license or commercial drivers license shall be suspended for 90 days.

(b)        As used in this section, serious bodily injury means bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2026, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.