(a) Employees of the department of safety shall be charged with the duty of policing and enforcing the motor vehicle laws administered by the commissioner of safety, and they shall have authority to make arrests for violations of the provisions, execute search warrants and do all the acts incident thereto in the same manner as other peace officers. The authority to weigh and inspect vehicles shall apply throughout the state, and the officer shall have authority to view the cargo and any bills or invoices or like evidence relating to the gross weight of the vehicle. It is lawful for the employees of the department of safety charged with the enforcement of this section to go armed while on active duty.

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 55-5-114

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Gross weight: means the weight of a vehicle without load plus the weight of any load thereon. 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
  • Livestock: means all equine as well as animals that are being raised primarily for use as food or fiber for human utilization or consumption including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and poultry. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • 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
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof, with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee or lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this chapter and chapter 10, parts 1-5 of this title. 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
  • Trailer: means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle. 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
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Any person, firm or corporation owning or operating any motor vehicle over the roads of this state in excess of the maximum limits provided in this title or with a greater gross weight than that authorized by the registration thereof commits a Class C misdemeanor.
(c)

(1) When any vehicle is found to be operated at a weight exceeding the maximum allowable under chapter 7 of this title, the operator may be required to reduce the weight to the maximum therefor specified in order to continue in operation.
(2) Any vehicle transporting perishable commodities or livestock may be removed to the nearest place suitable for preserving the character of the cargo removed from that vehicle.
(3) When any vehicle is seized, held, unloaded or partially unloaded under this subsection (c), the material shall be cared for by the owner or operator of the vehicle without any liability on the part of the department of safety’s agent or officer or of the state or any municipality because of damages or loss.
(d) No vehicle required to be registered under chapters 1-6 of this title shall be operated upon any highway unless there is attached thereto and displayed thereon, when and as required by chapters 1-6 of this title, a valid and outstanding registration plate or plates issued therefor to the owner thereof for the current registration year, or a registration plate or plates issued to the owner thereof with the proper tabs, sticker, or other device attached or affixed thereto indicating a valid renewal of the registration plate or plates. A violation of this subsection (d) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(e) Any operator of a vehicle who fails or refuses to display the certificate of registration therefor and in the case of a freight vehicle refuses to submit the vehicle and load for a weighing when directed by an officer of the law or duly constituted agent of the commissioner of safety commits a Class C misdemeanor.
(f) If any owner or operator fails to license a mobile home or house trailer within a period of fifteen (15) days after first occupancy requiring registration, or if any owner or operator fails to license a mobile home or house trailer prior to moving it on the streets or highways of the state, the person shall, in addition to other fees and taxes due, dating from the time of first use during a given registration year, be assessed a penalty of twenty percent (20%) of the amount of the registration fee and remit it as a part of the tax.
(g) Any violation punishable under this section shall subject the offender to liability also for the payment of any applicable specific fee enumerated in § 8-21-901 and directed to be paid therein or by § 40-25-104. Where imposed because of an arrest made or citation issued by an employee of the department of safety, the fee shall be paid over to the commissioner of safety and deposited by the commissioner of safety to the credit of the state treasurer and become a part of the general fund of the state.
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