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To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for an affirmative defense in a criminal or civil action relating to motor vehicle incidents if cases in which a certain party is convicted of riot.
Summary
This bill, the ROAD Act, amends federal criminal law to create an affirmative defense in criminal or civil lawsuits involving motor vehicle incidents. Under the bill, a defendant in a personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage case can use as a defense that the plaintiff was a participant acting in furtherance of a riot, as defined by federal riot statutes. The defendant can establish this defense by showing that the plaintiff has been convicted of federal riot charges or by proving the plaintiff committed a riot offense by preponderance of the evidence. In civil cases where a defendant raises this defense, the court may stay the proceedings during any related criminal prosecution if a conviction would support the defense.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Fine, Randy [R-FL-6] (R-FL)
2 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- Aug 1, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Aug 1, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 1, 2025
Mr. Fine introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for an affirmative defense in a criminal or civil action relating to motor vehicle incidents if cases in which a certain party is convicted of riot.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Reinstating Orderly Access for Drivers Act” or the “ROAD Act”.
SEC. 2. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE IN A CRIMINAL OR CIVIL ACTION; PARTY CONVICTED OF RIOT.
(a) In General.—Chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “Sec. 40B. Affirmative defense in a criminal or civil action; party convicted of riot
“(a) In a criminal or civil action for damages for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage carried out using a motor vehicle, it is an affirmative defense that such action arose from an injury or damage sustained by a participant acting in furtherance of a riot. The affirmative defense authorized by this section shall be established by evidence that the participant has been convicted of violating section 2101, or by proof of the commission of such crime by a preponderance of the evidence.
“(b) In a civil action in which a defendant raises an affirmative defense under this section, the court shall, on motion by the defendant, stay the action during the pendency of a criminal action that forms the basis for the defense, unless the court finds that a conviction in the criminal action would not form a valid defense under this section.”.
(b) Clerical Amendment.—The analysis for chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“40B. Affirmative defense in a criminal or civil action; party convicted of riot.”. <all>
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