[Code 1991, § 12-2]
Except where the violation of a section of this chapter is designated
as a misdemeanor, penalties for violations of this chapter shall conform
to the provisions set forth in Part 3B, Traffic Infractions and Uniform
Fine Schedule, of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
[Code 1991, § 12-3; Ord. No. 98-12, 7-1-1998; Ord. No. 99-16, 6-22-1999; Ord. No. 00-13, 6-27-2000; Ord. No. 01-15, 7-10-2001; Ord. No. 02-16, 6-25-2002; Ord.
No. 03-16, 6-24-2003; Ord. No. 04-24, 6-22-2004; Ord. No. 05-16, 6-28-2005; Ord. No. 06-10, 5-9-2006; Ord. No. 07-17, 5-22-2007; Ord.
No. 08-08, 5-13-2008; Ord. No. 09-29, 6-23-2009; Ord. No. 10-19, 6-22-2010]
A.
Pursuant to the authority of Code of Virginia §§ 46.2-1313
and 1-13.39:2, as amended, all of the provisions and requirements
of the law of the state contained in Code of Virginia Title 46.2,
as amended, as in force on July 1, 2010, and as amended in the future,
except those provisions and requirements the violation of which constitute
a felony and except those provisions and requirements which by their
very nature can have no application to or within the City, are hereby
adopted and incorporated in this chapter by reference and made applicable
within the City. Reference to "highways" or "highways of the Commonwealth"
contained in such provisions and requirements hereby adopted shall
be deemed to refer to the streets, highways and other public ways
within the City. Such provisions and requirements are hereby adopted,
mutatis mutandis, and made a part of this chapter as fully as though
set forth at length herein. It shall be unlawful for any person within
the City to violate or fail, neglect, or refuse to comply with any
provision of Code of Virginia Title 46.2 which is adopted by this
section; provided, however, that in no event shall the penalty imposed
for the violation of any provision or requirement hereby adopted exceed
the penalty imposed for a similar offense under Code of Virginia Title
46.2.
B.
Pursuant to the authority of Code of Virginia §§ 46.2-1313
and 1-13.39:2, as amended, all of the provisions and requirements
of the laws of the state contained in Code of Virginia, Art. 9 of
Ch. 11 of Title 16.1 (§ 16.1-278, et seq.) and Art. 2 of
Ch. 7 of Title 18.2 (§ 18.2-266, et seq.), as in force on
July 1, 2010, and as amended in the future, except those provisions
and requirements the violation of which constitute a felony and except
those provisions and requirements which by their very nature can have
no application to or within the City, are hereby adopted and incorporated
in this chapter by reference and made applicable within the City.
References to "highways" or "highways of the Commonwealth" contained
in such provisions and requirements hereby adopted shall be deemed
to refer to the streets, highways and other public ways within the
City. Such provisions and requirements are hereby adopted, mutatis
mutandis, and made a part of this chapter as fully as though set forth
at length herein. It shall be unlawful for any person within the City
to violate or fail, neglect, or refuse to comply with any provisions
of Code of Virginia Art. 9, Ch. 11 of Title 16.1 and Art. 2, Ch. 7
of Title 18.2 which is adopted by this section; provided, however,
that in no event shall the penalty imposed for the violation of any
provision or requirement hereby adopted exceed the penalty imposed
for a similar offense under Code of Virginia Art. 9, Ch. 11 of Title
16.1 or Art. 2, Ch. 7 of Title 18.2.
[Code 1991, § 12-4]
A.
The Director of Public Works, except as otherwise directed by this
chapter and except as otherwise directed from time to time by the
City Council, may regulate the operation and parking of vehicles within
the corporate limits of the City by the erection or placing of proper
signs or markers indicating prohibited or limited parking, restricted
speed areas, through or arterial streets, U-turns, school zones, hospital
zones, loading or unloading zones, and quiet zones, and by the erection
or placing of traffic lights or signals and other signs or markers
indicating the place and manner of operating or parking vehicles within
the corporate limits of the City.
B.
The Director of Public Works, by and with the approval of the City
Council, may regulate the operation of vehicles within the corporate
limits of the City by the erection or placing of proper signs or markings
indicating one-way streets.
C.
The Director of Public Works may:
(1)
Designate zones of limited parking near historical monuments and
points of historical interest for the exclusive use of out-of-city
cars;
(2)
Regulate the movement of pedestrians upon the streets and sidewalks
of the City by the erection or placing of traffic lights or signals,
proper signs or markers indicating the flow of pedestrian traffic;
(3)
Designate bus stops and erect signs prohibiting the parking of vehicles
other than buses at such stops;
(4)
Regulate the parking of vehicles of various sizes and weights;
(5)
Secure all such necessary traffic lights or signals, signs, or markers
to be erected or placed on any street or part of a street; and
(6)
Mark off traffic lanes on streets and parts of streets indicating
and directing the flow of traffic.
D.
The existence of traffic lights or signals, signs or markers at any
place within the corporate limits of the City shall be prima facie
evidence that such traffic lights and signals, signs or markers were
erected or placed by and at the direction of the Director of Public
Works in accordance with the provisions of this section.
[Code 1991, § 12-5]
No person shall wash, grease, repair or perform any mechanical
work upon a vehicle located upon a street or sidewalk, nor shall the
owner of a vehicle permit such work to be done to a vehicle owned
or operated by such person upon a street or sidewalk; provided, however,
that nothing in this section shall prohibit the owner of a passenger
car from washing such vehicle on a street adjacent to the owner's
residence.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 58-5, Parades and processions,
derived from §§ 12-6, 12-7 of the 1991 Code, was repealed
3-9-2010 by Ord. No. 10-03.
[Code 1991, § 12-9]
No person shall board or alight from any vehicle while such
vehicle is in motion.
[Code 1991, § 12-10]
No person shall ride on any vehicle upon any portion thereof
not designated or intended for the use of passengers. This provision
shall not apply to an employee engaged in the necessary discharge
of a duty or to persons riding within truck bodies in space intended
for merchandise.
[Code 1991, § 12-11]
No person shall throw or deposit or cause to be deposited upon
any street or highway in the City any glass bottle, glass, nail, tack,
wire, can, or other substance likely to injure any person or animal
or damage any vehicle upon such street or highway; nor shall any person
throw or deposit or cause to be deposited upon any street or highway
any soil, sand, mud, gravel, or other substance so as to create a
hazard to the traveling public. Any person who drops, or permits to
be dropped or thrown, upon any street or highway any destructive,
hazardous or injurious material shall immediately remove the material
or cause it to be removed. Any person removing a wrecked or damaged
vehicle from a street or highway shall remove any glass or other injurious
substance dropped upon the street or highway from such vehicle. Any
person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty
of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
[Code 1991, § 12-12]
A.
Operators of trucks and tractor trucks as defined in Code of Virginia,
§ 46.2-100, shall be restricted to the use of certain streets,
designated by the City Council from time to time and identified by
signs placed thereon as truck routes, while traveling to make deliveries,
loading or unloading material, or when driving through the City. Operators
of such trucks or tractor trucks, in order to conduct business away
from such designated truck routes, shall exit and return to such truck
routes by the most direct routes reasonably possible.
B.
Pickup or panel trucks, as defined in Code of Virginia, § 46.2-100,
are specifically excluded from the provisions of this section.
C.
Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit or restrict the
operation of trucks and tractor trucks to or from a facility for repair,
maintenance or fueling, or to or from a destination for loading or
unloading, except that the operators of these trucks, as defined,
shall exit and return to such truck routes by the most direct routes
reasonably possible.
[Code 1991, § 12-14]
The operator of a vehicle in the City shall not back such vehicle
unless such movement can be made with safety and without interfering
with other traffic.
[Code 1991, § 12-15]
No operator of a vehicle shall enter an intersection or a marked
crosswalk unless there is sufficient space beyond such intersection
or crosswalk in the direction in which such vehicle is proceeding
to accommodate the vehicle without obstructing the passage of other
vehicles or pedestrians, notwithstanding any traffic control signal
indicating to proceed.
[Code 1991, § 12-16]
It shall be unlawful for the operator of any truck, trailer,
or other vehicle equipped with a tailgate to lower or open the tailgate
thereon, or to suffer or permit such tailgate to be lowered or opened,
except during the time the vehicle is being loaded or unloaded, and
except during the time the load on the vehicle necessitates a lowered
or opened tailgate as a support for the load. It shall be the duty
of the operator of such vehicle to see that the tailgate on such vehicle
is kept closed or raised, except during the times specified in this
section.
[Code 1991, § 12-17]
Whenever a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer involved in
an accident is found upon the highways or streets in the City and
is so located as to impede the orderly flow of traffic, the police
may at no cost to the owner or operator remove such motor vehicle,
trailer or semitrailer from the highways or streets to some point
in the vicinity where such motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer
will not impede the flow of traffic.
[Code 1991, § 12-19]
A.
For purposes of this section, the term "downtown street" shall be
defined to include the following streets on which play is prohibited:
(1)
All those portions of George Street, Hanover Street and Charlotte
Street running between Sophia Street and Princess Anne Street;
(2)
All that portion of William Street running between Sophia Street
and Washington Avenue; and
(3)
All those portions of Sophia Street, Caroline Street, and Princess
Anne Street running between Amelia Street and Wolfe Street.
B.
No person shall use roller skates, skateboards, toys or other devices
on wheels, except bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles, on any downtown
street where play is prohibited under this section.
C.
No person shall use roller skates or skateboards on the sidewalks of any downtown street, as defined in Subsection A of this section.
D.
No person shall use roller skates or skateboards on any public parking lot or parking area owned, leased or operated by the City that is contiguous to any sidewalk covered by this section or contiguous to any downtown street, as defined in Subsection A of this section.
E.
Any person violating this section shall be issued a citation and
subject to a penalty of $5.
[Ord. No. 05-15, 6-28-2005]
No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the streets of
the City without giving full time and attention to the operation of
the vehicle. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of
a traffic infraction and punished by a fine of not more than $100.
[Ord. No. 09-38, 9-8-2009]
A.
A person convicted of violating any of the following provisions shall
at the time of sentencing or in a separate civil action be liable
to the City for restitution of reasonable expenses incurred by the
City when issuing any related arrest warrant or summons: The provisions
of Code of Virginia §§ 18.2-266, 18.2-266.1, or 46.2-341.24,
regarding the operation of a motor vehicle, engine, train or watercraft
while impaired, or a similar provision of the City Code;
B.
Personal liability under this section shall be a flat fee of $250
for each arrest occurring in the City.
[Ord. No. 09-38, 9-8-2009]
A.
In lieu of the liability imposed by § 58-17 above, a person convicted of violating any of the following provisions shall, at the time of sentencing or in a separate civil action be liable to the City for restitution of reasonable expenses incurred by the City for responding law enforcement, firefighting, rescue and emergency services, including those incurred by the sheriff's office or by any volunteer fire or rescue squad, or by any combination of the foregoing, when providing an appropriate emergency response to any accident or incident related to such violation:
(1)
The provisions of Code of Virginia §§ 18.2-36.1, 18.2-51.4,
18.2-266, 18.2-266.1, 29.1-738, 29.1-738.02, or 46.2-341.24, or a
similar provision of the City Code, when the operation of a motor
vehicle, engine, train or watercraft while so impaired is the proximate
cause of the accident or incident;
(2)
The provisions of Code of Virginia Title 46.2, Chapter 8, Article
7 (§ 46.2-852 et seq.), relating to reckless driving, or
a similar provision of the City Code, when such reckless driving is
the proximate cause of the accident or incident;
(3)
The provisions of Code of Virginia Title 46.2, Chapter 3, Article
1 (§ 46.2-300 et seq.), relating to driving without a license
or driving with a suspended or revoked license, or a similar provision
of the City Code, when the driver is involved in an accident or incident,
and the responding officer determines that such driver was at fault;
and
(4)
The provisions of Code of Virginia § 46.2-894 relating
to improperly leaving the scene of an accident in which a person is
killed or injured, or in which an attended vehicle or other attended
property is damaged.
B.
Personal liability under this section shall not exceed $1,000 in
the aggregate for a particular accident or incident occurring in the
City. In determining the "reasonable expenses" the City may bill a
flat fee of $250 or a minute-by-minute accounting of the actual costs
incurred, where warranted by the expense incurred. As used in this
section, "appropriate emergency response" includes all costs of providing
law-enforcement, fire-fighting, rescue, and emergency medical services.
[Added 7-12-2022 by Ord.
No. 22-12]
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate on the highways
in the City a motor vehicle, moped, or motorized skateboard or foot-scooter
equipped with a gutted muffler, muffler cutout, or straight exhaust.
[Added 7-12-2022 by Ord.
No. 22-12]
A.
No person shall drive and no owner of a vehicle shall permit or allow
the operation of any such vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped
with an exhaust system in good working order and in constant operation
to prevent excessive or unusual levels of noise; provided, however,
that for motor vehicles, such exhaust system shall be of a type installed
as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for
use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment or other
equipment that has been submitted to and approved by the Superintendent
of the Department of State Police of the Commonwealth, or meets or
exceeds the standards and specifications of the Society of Automotive
Engineers, the American National Standards Institute, or the federal
Department of Transportation.
B.
As used in this section, "exhaust system" means all the parts of
a vehicle through which the exhaust passes after leaving the engine
block, including mufflers and other sound dissipative devices.
C.
Chambered pipes are not an effective muffling device to prevent excessive
or unusual noise, and any vehicle equipped with chambered pipes shall
be deemed in violation of this section.
D.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
