Alabama's New Law Makes Fleeing Police in a Car a Felony

Until October 1, a driver who ran from police in Alabama usually faced a misdemeanor. Senate Bill 233 changed that. Fleeing an officer in a vehicle is now a felony from the first charge, and the penalties climb fast when anything else goes wrong during the chase.

I've been in Alabama courtrooms since the late 1970s, and the gap between a misdemeanor and a felony is bigger than most people think. It changes where the case is heard, how the State has to bring it, and what follows you for years afterward. So here is what the new law says, read straight from the enrolled bill.

What the law changed

SB 233 rewrites Section 13A-10-52 of the Alabama Code, the eluding statute. Senator Lance Bell of Pell City sponsored it. News reports say it passed the House 80 to 15, and Governor Ivey signed it on April 9. She said at the time that people who run from police put bystanders, officers, and themselves at great risk. The law took effect October 1, 2026.

The conduct that counts as a crime is the same as before. A driver commits the offense by intentionally fleeing or trying to elude an officer after getting a signal to stop. What changed is the punishment, and the statute splits it in two:

Fleeing in a vehicle is now a Class D felony. In Alabama that means 1 year and 1 day up to 5 years. It used to be a Class A misdemeanor, capped at a year in jail.
Fleeing an officer who is trying to arrest you, by any means other than driving, is still a Class A misdemeanor.

How the penalties climb

A violation of either part becomes a Class C felony (1 year and 1 day up to 10 years) if any one of these happens:

The flight causes you to hit another vehicle or a pedestrian.
Someone is physically injured.
You cross into another state.
A child under 14 is in the vehicle.
You're out on bail, probation, or parole, or serving a sentence in community corrections or work release.
You already have a prior conviction under this statute.

It becomes a Class B felony (2 to 20 years) if any one of these happens:

Someone is seriously injured or killed.
You go more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit during the flight.
You hit, or try to hit, an officer or a vehicle with an officer in it.
You have two or more prior convictions under this statute.

By my reading of the marked-up bill, the child-in-the-car, bail-or-probation, prior-conviction, and officer-contact triggers are new. The collision, injury, state-line, serious-injury, and speed triggers were already in the statute.

Mandatory jail for repeat cases

SB 233 also adds minimum jail time. A second conviction within five years carries at least 90 days in confinement. A third or later conviction within seven years carries at least 180 days. The counting runs from the dates of the earlier arrests to the date of the new arrest.

On any conviction, the court must also suspend your driver license for at least six months and up to two years.

The one thing the law says you can do

Subsection (e) is worth knowing. It is not a violation to keep driving at or below the speed limit, with or without your flashers on, if you intend to stop at the nearest safe place. That covers the driver who wants to stop somewhere lit and safe instead of on a dark road. Whether a particular drive fits is a question of fact, and the officer's account and yours may not match.

None of that is a reason to ignore a blue light. Pull over as soon as you safely can.

Where these cases get fought

The State has to prove you fled intentionally, so most of the argument is about what you knew and when.

Did the officer actually signal you to stop? Lights, siren, or both, and for how long?
Was it a marked car? Did you know the person behind you was an officer?
If the charge says you were more than 20 mph over the limit, how was that measured?
If the charge says the flight caused a collision or an injury, did it? Or did something else?
If the State is counting prior convictions, are they real, and do they fall inside the time windows?

Dash camera and body camera video decide a lot of these cases. That's one reason to move quickly.

If you've been charged

Find out which level you're charged with: Class D, C, or B. It changes everything about how the case is handled. A misdemeanor stays in the lower court. A felony usually goes through a preliminary hearing and a grand jury before it reaches circuit court, with higher stakes at each step.

Don't explain yourself to the investigator. Be polite, give your name, and ask for a lawyer. Most of the damage in these cases comes from what people say in the first few days. We go through that in First Steps After a Criminal Charge in Alabama.

Check the date. The new levels apply to conduct on or after October 1, 2026. Something that happened before then is generally charged under the old law.

Think about what else a chase can bring. Fleeing often comes with other charges. Reckless endangerment became a felony in some cases this year, and if there was a wreck, leaving the scene or DUI may be in play under the Safe Streets Act.

A felony conviction also carries consequences a misdemeanor doesn't, including losing the right to own a firearm and trouble with many employers.

Call us

If you or someone in your family has been charged with fleeing or eluding, call John Medaris Law at (205) 663-1584. We're at 230 Bearden Road in Pelham, and we take cases in Shelby and Jefferson Counties, including Pelham, Alabaster, Helena, and Hoover. The first consultation is free, and we'll tell you straight where you stand.