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Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-143

Signals for turns

Known as the Jeff Roth and Brian Brown Bicycle Protection Act

The act spans §§ 55-8-101 to 55-8-307 (115 sections).

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case State v. Starr (2009)

Most recently applied in United States v. Pittman (March 2016)

Acts 1955, ch. 329, § 41; T.C.A., § 59-843.

How often courts cite this section

199920002010201610
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) Every driver who intends to start, stop or turn, or partly turn from a direct line, shall first see that that movement can be made in safety, and whenever the operation of any other vehicle may be affected by such movement, shall give a signal required in this section, plainly visible to the driver of the other vehicle of the intention to make such movement.

(2) The signal required in this section shall be given by means of the hand and arm, or by some mechanical or electrical device approved by the department of safety, in the manner specified in this section. Whenever the signal is given by means of the hand and arm, the driver shall indicate the intention to start, stop, or turn, or partly turn, by extending the hand and arm from and beyond the left side of the vehicle, in the following manner: For left turn, or to pull to the left, the arm shall be extended in a horizontal position straight from and level with the shoulder;

(3) For right turn, or pull to the right, the arm shall be extended upward; and

(4) For slowing down or to stop, the arm shall be extended downward.

(5) These signals shall be given continuously for a distance of at least fifty feet (50') before stopping, turning, partly turning, or materially altering the course of the vehicle.

(6) Drivers having once given a hand, electrical or mechanical device signal, must continue the course thus indicated, unless they alter the original signal and take care that drivers of vehicles and pedestrians have seen and are aware of the change.

(7) Drivers receiving a signal from another driver shall keep their vehicles under complete control and shall be able to avoid an accident resulting from a misunderstanding of the signal.

(8) Drivers of vehicles, standing or stopped at the curb or edge before moving these vehicles, shall give signals of their intention to move into traffic, as provided in this section, before turning in the direction the vehicle shall proceed from the curb.

Current official text: Tennessee Code (LexisNexis). Digitized from the UniCourt Code Improvement Commission public-domain capture. Reproduced from public-domain Tennessee statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.