(a) No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle outside of the limits of an incorporated municipality, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with law or the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C misdemeanorup to 30 daysup to $50
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
medical exam

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-8-160

  • Bicycle: means every device propelled by human power upon which any person may ride, having two (2) tandem wheels, either of which is more than twenty inches (20") in diameter. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Certified police cyclist: means any full time, sworn law enforcement officer who is certified by the International Police Mountain Bike Association or has otherwise been certified by the Tennessee peace officer standards and training commission as having received and successfully completed appropriate bicycle training in the performance of law enforcement functions. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Crosswalk: means :
    (A) That part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Department: means the department of safety. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Driver: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way when any part thereto is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Intersection: means :
    (A) The area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or, if none, then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two (2) highways that join one another at, or approximately at, right angles, or the areas within which vehicles traveling upon different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Pedestrian: means any person afoot or using a motorized or non-motorized wheelchair. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Police officer: means every officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Railroad: means a carrier of persons or property upon cars, other than streetcars, operated upon stationary rails. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Recycling vehicle: means any vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for the collection or transportation of recovered materials or recyclable materials. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Safety zone: means the area or space officially set apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and that is protected or is so marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be plainly visible at all times while set apart as a safety zone. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Sidewalk: means that portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for use of pedestrians. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Solid waste vehicle: means any vehicle engaged in the collecting and transporting of municipal solid waste as defined by §. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Street: means the entire width between boundary lines of every way when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Traffic-control signal: means any device, whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
(1) On a sidewalk; provided, that a bicycle may be parked on a sidewalk if it does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian or other traffic, or such parking is not prohibited by ordinance;
(2) In front of a public or private driveway;
(3) Within an intersection;
(4) Within seven and one-half feet (71/2′) to fifteen feet (15′) of a fire hydrant. An incorporated municipality shall determine and shall appropriately identify the distance from a fire hydrant to stop, stand or park a vehicle; provided, that this distance conforms to this subdivision (a)(4);
(5) On a crosswalk;
(6) Within twenty feet (20′) of a crosswalk at an intersection;
(7) Within thirty feet (30′) upon the approach to any flashing beacon, stop sign or traffic-control signal located at the side of a roadway;
(8) Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within thirty feet (30′) of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone, unless the department of transportation or local traffic authority indicates a different length by signs or markings;
(9) Within fifty feet (50′) of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing;
(10) Within twenty feet (20′) of the driveway entrance to any fire station and on the side of a street opposite the entrance to any fire station within seventy-five feet (75′) of that entrance when properly signposted;
(11) Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when stopping, standing or parking would obstruct traffic;
(12) On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street;
(13) Upon any bridge or other elevated structure upon a highway or within a highway tunnel;
(14) At any place where official signs prohibit stopping; and
(15) In a parking space clearly identified by an official sign as being reserved for persons with physical disabilities, unless, however, the person driving the vehicle has a physical disability or is parking the vehicle for the benefit of a person with a physical disability. A vehicle parking in such a space shall display a certificate or placard as set forth in chapter 21 of this title, or a disabled veteran’s license plate issued under § 55-4-256.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a certified police cyclist engaged in the lawful performance of duty using a police bicycle as a barrier or traffic-control device at the scene of an emergency or in response to other calls for police service.
(c) No person shall move a vehicle not lawfully under that person’s control into any such prohibited area or away from a curb such distance as is unlawful.
(d)

(1) This section shall not apply to the driver of any vehicle that is disabled while on the paved or improved or main traveled portion of a road, street or highway in a manner and to an extent that it is impossible to avoid stopping and temporarily leaving the vehicle in such position.
(2) This section shall not apply to the driver of any vehicle operating as a carrier of passengers for hire who is authorized to operate such vehicle upon the roads, streets or highways in Tennessee, while taking passengers on the vehicle, or discharging passengers from that vehicle; provided, that the vehicle is stopped so that a clear view of the vehicle shall be obtained from a distance of two hundred feet (200′) in each direction, upon the roads, streets or highways.
(3) This section does not apply to a solid waste vehicle while on the paved or improved main traveled portion of a road, street or highway in a manner and to an extent as is necessary for the sole purpose of collecting municipal solid waste, as defined by § 68-211-802; provided, that the vehicle shall maintain flashing hazard lights at all times while it is stopping or standing; provided further, that the vehicle is stopped so that a clear view of the stopped vehicle shall be available from a distance of two hundred feet (200′) in either direction upon the highway. This subdivision (d)(3) does not preclude any claimant from pursuing a common law claim for recovery pursuant to common law negligence.
(4) This section does not apply to a recycling vehicle while on the paved or improved main traveled portion of a road, street, or highway in a manner and to an extent as is necessary for the sole purpose of collecting or transporting recovered materials or recyclable materials; provided, that the vehicle shall maintain flashing hazard lights at all times while it is stopping or standing; provided further, that the vehicle is stopped or standing so that a clear view of the vehicle shall be available from a distance of two hundred feet (200′) in either direction upon the highway. This subdivision (d)(4) does not preclude any claimant from pursuing a common law claim for recovery pursuant to common law negligence.
(e) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
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