Source: https://www.tn.gov/tdot/multimodal-transportation-resources/bicycle-and-pedestrian-program/tennesse-bicycle-laws.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 14:34:47+00:00

Document:
(10) "Tricycle" means a three-wheeled human-powered vehicle.
(B) The rental or lease includes a protective bicycle helmet of good fit, and the person intends to wear the helmet, as required by subdivision (1), at all times while operating or being a passenger on the bicycle.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), any adult person violating any requirements set forth in § 55-52-105, commits a violation and shall be assessed a civil penalty of two dollars ($2.00) and court costs.
(b) Upon commission of the first offense within a twelve-month period under § 55-52-105(3), it shall be a defense that the accused has since the date of the violation purchased or provided a protective bicycle helmet or a restraining seat, and uses and intends to use or causes to be used or intends to cause to be used the same as the law requires.
(c) In no event shall failure to wear a protective bicycle helmet or to secure a passenger to a restraining seat be admissible as evidence in a trial of any civil action.
(d) A law enforcement officer observing any violation of this part shall issue a warning to the violator for the first offense and a citation to the violator for the second or subsequent offense, but shall not arrest or take into custody any person solely for a violation of this part.
It is a Class C misdemeanor for any person to do any act forbidden or fail to perform any act required in §§ 55-8-171 -- 55-8-177.
(b) The parent of any child and the guardian of any ward shall not authorize or knowingly permit that child or ward to violate any of the provisions of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title.
(c) The regulations applicable to bicycles and electric bicycles shall apply whenever a bicycle or electric bicycle is operated upon any highway or upon any path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles subject to those exceptions stated herein.
(d) This section and §§ 55-8-172 – 55-8-177 are applicable to electric bicycles as defined in Section 2 of § 55-8-301.
Every person riding a bicycle or electric bicycle, as defined in Section 2 of § 55-8-301, upon a roadway is granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title, except as to those provisions of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title that by their nature can have no application.
Every person riding a bicycle or electric bicycles, as defined in Section 2 of § 55-8-301, is subject to the special regulations in §§ 55-8-171 – 55-8-177 applicable to bicycles or electric bicycles.
Every person riding an electric bicycle, as defined in Section 2 of § 55-8-301, is subject to the special regulations in Section 2 through 8 of § 55-8-301 applicable to electric bicycles.
(d) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the rider of a bicycle approaching an intersection that is controlled by a traffic-control signal utilizing a vehicle detection device that is inoperative due to the size of the bicycle shall come to a full and complete stop at the intersection and, after exercising due care as provided by law, may proceed with due caution when it is safe to do so. It is not a defense to a violation of § 55-8-109 that the rider of a bicycle proceeded under the belief that a traffic-control signal utilized a vehicle detection device or was inoperative due to the size of the bicycle when the signal did not utilize a vehicle detection device or that the device was not in fact inoperative due to the size of the bicycle.
(a) A person propelling a bicycle shall not ride other than upon or astride a permanent and regular seat attached thereto, except for a certified police cyclist who is performing duties that require riding in a side dismounting position.
(b) No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one (1) time than the number for which it is designed or equipped.
(c) No person shall play on a highway other than upon the sidewalk thereof, within a city or town, or in any part of a highway outside the limits of a city or town, or use thereon roller skates, coasters or any similar vehicle or toy or article on wheels or a runner, except in those areas as may be specially designated for that purpose by local authorities.
(d) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
No person riding upon any bicycle, roller skates, sled or toy vehicle shall attach the bicycle, roller skates, sled or toy vehicle, or that person's own body, to any streetcar or vehicle upon a roadway.
This section shall not be construed to prohibit the attachment of a bicycle trailer or bicycle semitrailer to a bicycle if the trailer or semitrailer is designed specifically for that purpose.
(C) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. For purposes of this section, "substandard width lane" means a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.
(2) This subsection (a) does not apply to a certified police cyclist engaged in the lawful performance of duty relating to traffic control.
(1) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two (2) abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two (2) abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic and, on a laned roadway, shall ride within a single lane. (2) Subdivision (b)(1) does not apply to a certified police cyclist engaged in the lawful performance of duty relating to traffic control or in pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law.
(c) (1) This subsection (c) shall be known and may be cited as the "Jeff Roth and Brian Brown Bicycle Protection Act of 2007."
(2) The operator of a motor vehicle, when overtaking and passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on the roadway, shall leave a safe distance between the motor vehicle and the bicycle of not less than three feet (3') and shall maintain the clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle.
(a) No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package, bundle or article that prevents the driver from keeping at least one (1) hand upon the handlebars.
(a) Every bicycle, when in use at nighttime, shall be equipped with a lamp on the front, which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet (500') to the front, and either a red reflector or a lamp emitting a red light, which shall be visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet (500') to the rear, when directly in front of lawful upper beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle.
(b) Every bicycle shall be equipped with a brake or brakes which will enable its driver to stop the bicycle within twenty-five feet (25') from a speed of ten miles per hour (10 mph) on dry, level, clean pavement.
(6) Section 55-8-175(c), by failing to overtake and pass a bicycle safely as provided in § 55-8-175(c).
(3) Protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member, organ or mental faculty.
(c) (1) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250) if the accident results in serious bodily injury of another.
(2) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500) if the accident results in the death of another.
(d) The court shall send the department a record of any of the convictions of any of the sections indicated in subsection (a). The court shall indicate on the record or abstract whether the violation resulted in serious bodily injury of another or death of another.
(e) Upon conviction, the court may revoke the license or permit to drive and any nonresident operating privilege of a person convicted under this section for a period of up to six (6) months, if the accident results in serious bodily injury of another, and up to one (1) year if the accident results in death of another.
55-8-127. Restrictions on use of controlled-access roadway.
(a) The department of transportation and local authorities may, with respect to any controlled-access roadway under their respective jurisdictions, prohibit the use of that roadway by pedestrians, bicycles or other nonmotorized traffic or by any person operating a motor-driven cycle.
(b) The department or the local authority adopting any such prohibitory regulation shall erect and maintain official signs on the controlled-access roadway on which the regulations are applicable, and when the signs are erected, a person who disobeys the restrictions stated on the signs commits a Class C misdemeanor.
(4) "Electric bicycle" means a device upon which any person may ride that is equipped with two (2) or three (3) wheels, any of which is twenty inches (20") or more in diameter, fully operable pedals for human propulsion, and an electric motor of less than seven hundred fifty (750) watts, and meets the requirements of one (1) of the three (3) classes of electric bicycles defined in subdivision (1), (2), or (3).
TCA 55-8-302: Requirements and laws applicable to electric bicycles.
An electric bicycle and any person operating an electric bicycle is not subject to any requirements or laws applicable to motor vehicles, including the Tennessee Financial Responsibility Law of 1977, compiled in chapter 12, part 1 of this title; the Uniform Classified and Commercial Driver License Act of 1988, compiled in chapter 50 of this title; and chapters 3 and 4 of this title, relating to titling and registration. Except as otherwise specified by this part, the requirements and laws applicable to bicycles in this title shall apply to electric bicycles.
(a) On or after January 1, 2017, every manufacturer or distributor of new electric bicycles intended for sale or distribution in this state shall permanently affix, in a prominent location, to the electric bicycle a label that contains the classification number, top assisted speed, and motor wattage of the electric bicycle, and is printed in Arial font in at least nine-point type.
(b) On or after January 1, 2017, no new electric bicycle shall be sold to the general public in this state unless a label is affixed to the electric bicycle pursuant to subsection (a).
(c) A violation of subsection (a) or (b) is an unfair and deceptive act or practice under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977, compiled in title 47, chapter 18, part 1.
TCA 55-8-304: Unlawful modification of electric bicycle.
It is an offense for a person to knowingly modify an electric bicycle so as to change the speed capability of the electric bicycle and not appropriately replace, or cause to be replaced, the label indicating the classification required in § 55-8-303. A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(2) Is equipped in such a manner that the electric motor is disengaged or ceases to function when the brakes are applied, or that the electric motor is engaged through a switch or mechanism that, when released or activated, will cause the electric motor to disengage or cease to function.
(b) No class 3 electric bicycle shall be operated upon any street or highway unless it is equipped with a speedometer that displays the speed the electric bicycle is traveling in miles per hour.
(c) A person who knowingly operates an electric bicycle in violation of subsection (a) or (b) commits a Class C misdemeanor.
TCA 55-8-306: Operation of electric bicycle on street or highway or path or trail.
(a)(1) A class 1 electric bicycle or a class 2 electric bicycle may be operated on any part of a street or highway where bicycles are authorized to travel, including a bicycle lane or other portion of a roadway designated for exclusive use by bicyclists, the shoulder or berm, and any path or trail intended for use by bicyclists.
(2) A local government or state agency having jurisdiction over any part of any path or trail where bicycles are authorized to travel may regulate or prohibit, by resolution or ordinance if a local government or by rule or policy if a state agency, the operation of a class 1 electric bicycle or class 2 electric bicycle on that path or trail, if the local government or state agency determines that the regulation or prohibition is necessary, in the interest of public safety.
(3) No class 3 electric bicycle shall be operated on any part of a path or trail where bicycles are authorized to travel, unless the path or trail is within or adjacent to the street or highway, or the local governing body or state agency having jurisdiction over the path or trail permits, by resolution or ordinance if a local government or by rule or policy if a state agency, the operation of a class 3 electric bicycle on that path or trail.
(4) No electric bicycle shall be operated on any sidewalk unless the use of bicycles on sidewalks is authorized by resolution or ordinance if a local government or by rule or policy if a state agency, of the local government or state agency having jurisdiction over that sidewalk, and the electric motor is disabled.
(5) Any local resolution or ordinance or state agency rule or policy adopted in accordance with this subsection (a) shall use the definitions in this part for electric bicycle, class 1 electric bicycle, class 2 electric bicycle, or class 3 electric bicycle. References to motor vehicles in any local resolution or ordinance shall not be applicable to an electric bicycle.
(6) A person who knowingly operates an electric bicycle in violation of subdivision (a)(3) or (a)(4) commits a Class C misdemeanor.
(b) On any roadway, highway, or street, electric bicycles shall be restricted, limited, or excluded by local resolutions and ordinances to the same extent as bicycles are restricted, limited, or excluded.
TCA 55-8-307: Prohibited operation of class 3 electric bicycle by person under 14 years of age -- Helmet requirements.
(a) It is a delinquent act for a person under fourteen (14) years of age to operate a class 3 electric bicycle upon any street or highway; provided, that the person may ride as a passenger on a class 3 electric bicycle that is designed to accommodate passengers.
(b) The operator and all passengers of a class 3 electric bicycle, regardless of age, shall wear a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet meeting federal standards established by the United States consumer product safety commission or the American Society for Testing and Materials. A label on the helmet shall be affixed signifying the helmet complies with this subsection (b).
(c)(1) A violation of subsection (a) shall be punishable only by a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00).
(2) A person who violates subsection (b) commits a Class C misdemeanor.

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