(a) A person operating a motorcycle shall ride only upon the permanent and regular seat attached thereto, and such operator shall not carry any other person, nor shall any other person ride on a motorcycle, unless the motorcycle is designed to carry more than one (1) person, in which event a passenger may ride upon the permanent and regular seat if designed for two (2) persons, or upon another seat firmly attached to the rear or side of the operator.

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 55-8-164

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Operator: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. 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
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) A person shall ride upon a motorcycle only while sitting astride the seat, headlamp illuminated, facing forward, with one (1) leg on each side of the motorcycle.
(c) No person shall operate a motorcycle while carrying any package, bundle, or other article which prevents the person from keeping both hands on the handlebars.
(d) No operator shall carry any person, nor shall any person ride, in a position that will interfere with the operation or control of the motorcycle or the view of the operator.
(e)

(1) An operator commits an offense who, on the streets of any municipality, roads of any county, or the highways of this state, carries a child as a passenger on a motorcycle whose feet are not on footpegs; provided, that this subsection (e) shall not apply to persons riding in a motorcycle sidecar.
(2)

(A) A violation of this subsection (e) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(B) A person charged with a violation of this subsection (e) may, in lieu of appearance in court, submit a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) to the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction of the offense within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed.
(C) No litigation tax levied pursuant to title 67, chapter 4, part 6 shall be imposed or assessed against anyone convicted of a violation of this subsection (e), nor shall any clerk’s fee or court costs, including, but not limited to, any statutory fees of officers, be imposed or assessed against anyone convicted of a violation of this subsection (e).
(D)

(i) The revenue generated by ten dollars ($10.00) of the fifty-dollar ($50.00) fine for a person’s first conviction under this subsection (e), shall be deposited in the state general fund without being designated for any specific purpose. The remaining forty dollars ($40.00) of the fifty-dollar ($50.00) fine for a person’s first conviction under this subsection (e) shall be deposited to the child safety fund as provided in § 55-9-602(f).
(ii) The revenue generated from a person’s second or subsequent conviction under this subsection (e) shall be deposited to the child safety fund as provided in § 55-9-602(f).
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