Vermont No Chase Law
Agency discretion
Does Vermont have a no-chase law? No — Vermont has no statewide law restricting police pursuits. Each department sets its own chase policy.
What governs pursuits in Vermont
23 V.S.A. §1015 (fresh-pursuit privileges); no separate pursuit-restriction statute found
Vermont has no statute that itself restricts when officers may pursue; 23 V.S.A. §1015 grants emergency-vehicle privileges (proceeding past a red/stop signal after slowing) to officers in 'fresh pursuit.' Statewide standardization instead comes via the Law Enforcement Advisory Board (LEAB), which unanimously adopted a model vehicle-pursuit policy on June 17, 2024 and distributed it to all VT agencies — but adopting/following that model policy is not itself a binding statute, so restrictiveness still varies by department (VLCT also offers its own model policy to member agencies).
Will police chase a motorcycle in Vermont?
No Vermont law singles out motorcycles. Pursuit of a fleeing motorcyclist is governed by each department's own policy (informed by the 2024 LEAB model policy), which typically instructs officers to weigh the higher crash risk before continuing a high-speed motorcycle chase.
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 Vermont regardless. See the state-by-state motorcycle guide for how this works everywhere.
Recent changes
2024: LEAB adopted and distributed a statewide model pursuit policy (non-binding recommendation) to VT law enforcement agencies; 2025: related amendments to Title 23 (No. 18 §42, eff. May 13, 2025) touched motor-vehicle provisions but not pursuit-initiation criteria specifically.
Sources
- legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01015
- legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Workgroups/House%20Government%20Operation
Verified as of August 2026. Department policies can change without notice — check the agency's published policy for current break-off criteria.