Title 31
Motor and Other Vehicles

Chapter 15
Passing, Use of Lanes, and Rules of the Road

R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-15-12.1

§ 31-15-12.1. Entering intersections.

(a) The driver of a motor vehicle shall not enter an intersection whether or not any traffic signal is green unless there is sufficient space in the roadway he or she is about to enter beyond the intersection to receive his or her vehicle without blocking the intersection. Violations of this section are subject to fines enumerated in section 31-41.1-4, unless bodily injury, serious bodily injury or death occurs to any person other than the offending operator under this section.

(b) When bodily injury of any person other than the offending operator of any motor vehicle is caused by violation of this section, the offending operator shall be fined two hundred dollars ($200). When serious bodily injury of any person other than the offending operator of any motor vehicle is caused by violation of this section, the offending operator shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500) and his/her driver’s license shall be suspended for a period of three (3) months. When the death of any person other than the offending operator of any motor vehicle is caused by violation of this section, the offending operator shall be fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) and his/her driver’s license shall be suspended for a period of one year.

(c) As used in this section, “serious bodily injury” means physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious physical disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

History of Section.
P.L. 1962, ch. 204, § 4; P.L. 2002, ch. 292, § 110; P.L. 2013, ch. 339, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 414, § 1.