(a) The service brakes upon any motor vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be adequate to stop the vehicle or vehicles when traveling twenty miles per hour (20 mph) within a distance of thirty feet (30′) when upon dry asphalt or concrete pavement surface free from loose material where the grade does not exceed one percent (1%).

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
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-9-205

  • 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
(b) Under the conditions in subsection (a), the hand brake shall be adequate to stop the vehicle or vehicles within a distance of fifty-five feet (55′) and the hand brake shall be adequate to hold the vehicle or vehicles stationary on any grade upon which operated.
(c) Under the conditions in subsection (a), the service brakes upon a motor vehicle equipped with two (2) wheel brakes only, and when permitted, shall be adequate to stop the vehicle within a distance of forty feet (40′) and the hand brake adequate to stop the vehicle within a distance of fifty-five feet (55′).
(d) All braking distances specified in this section shall apply to all vehicles mentioned, whether the vehicles are not loaded or are loaded to the maximum capacity permitted under this chapter.
(e) All brakes shall be maintained in good working order and shall be so adjusted as to operate as equally as practicable with respect to the wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle.
(f) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
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