Virginia No Chase Law
Agency discretion
Does Virginia have a no-chase law? No — Virginia has no statewide law restricting police pursuits. Each department sets its own chase policy.
What governs pursuits in Virginia
No Virginia statute imposes statewide substantive limits on when police may pursue a fleeing vehicle. Pursuits are governed by DCJS-recommended standards and individual agency general orders (e.g., Henrico, Arlington PD directives), with the Virginia State Crime Commission having studied but not enacted mandatory statewide pursuit restrictions. Fleeing/eluding is a criminal offense but that does not restrict officer pursuit authority.
Will police chase a motorcycle in Virginia?
No state or statewide rule bars chasing a motorcycle in Virginia; it is left to each department's pursuit policy, which typically weighs rider/public safety and often discourages high-speed pursuit of two-wheeled vehicles due to added crash risk, but no blanket ban exists.
No US state has a literal law forbidding officers from chasing motorcycles. What riders call a "no-chase law" is nearly always a department policy that tells officers to break off a pursuit when the danger to the public outweighs the arrest — and fleeing remains a crime in Virginia regardless. See the state-by-state motorcycle guide for how this works everywhere.
Sources
- vscc.virginia.gov/documents/Law%20enforcement%20Emergency%20Response.pdf
- henrico.gov/public-data/policy-vehicular-pursuits/
- law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title9.1/
Verified as of August 2026. Department policies can change without notice — check the agency's published policy for current break-off criteria.