Fake News: New Bills Do NOT Allow Drivers to Run Over Protesters if They're Standing in the Street

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fake News: New Bills Do NOT Allow Drivers to Run Over Protesters if They're Standing in the Street

Did some states pass bills that would allow drivers to run over protesters standing in a street? No, that's not true: Several state legislatures did consider measures in 2017 that would have given limited protection to drivers who hit protesting pedestrians if it was accidental, but all of the proposals died in legislative committees.

The story originated from an article published on February 12, 2018 titled "New Bills Allow Drivers to Run Over Protesters if They're Standing in the Street (Yes, For Real)" (archived here) which opened:

Last year, news outlets were buzzing as many people watched a Dodge Ram plowing through protestors in Durham, NC who just so happened to be out there voicing their opinion against the police. As the truck pushed through the wall of people, they protestors would continue to try and get it to stop by pounding on the hood, however, the driver of the 2500 pickup truck would just keep on rolling right on through the people. Obviously, this situation caused a big back-and-forth only to have all of the card fall in favor of the driver of the truck.

Since then, we have actually seen bills passed to take the situation one step further because, as of late, it has become something that's a lot more prevalent than it used to be. As it turns out, according to CNN, bills have been passed in the states of Florida, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and North Dakota so that if you run over a protester who happens to be in the street, you can be released of some of the liability that you would otherwise be held accountable for should you run over just another person in the street.

Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:

New Bills Allow Drivers to Run Over Protesters if They're Standing in the Street (Yes, For Real)

Last year, news outlets were buzzing as many people watched a Dodge Ram plowing through protestors in Durham, NC who just so happened to be out there voicing their opinion against the police. As the truck pushed through the wall of people, they protestors would continue to try and get it to stop by...

Readers of this false reporting should be aware that not only did none of the bills get enacted into law -- contrary to the impression given by the writer -- but even if they did become law it would not give any criminal legal protection to a driver who was proven to have crashed into the protesters on purpose. It would only be limited to drivers who did so by accident.

Even as CNN filed this story on the proposals in August 2017, there was little hope for them.

Want to inform others about the accuracy of this story?

See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends...) and leave the link in the comments.:


  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

About Us

International Fact-Checking Organization EFCSN Meta Third-Party Fact Checker

Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
Spotted something? Let us know!.

Lead Stories is a:


WhatsApp Tipline

Have a tip or a question? Chat with our friendly robots on WhatsApp!

Add our number +1 (404) 655-4223, follow this link or scan the image below with your phone:

@leadstories

Subscribe to our newsletter

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Lead Stories LLC:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Most Read

Most Recent

Share your opinion