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Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-406

Headlights on motor vehicles — Operation during inclement weather — Violation — Penalty — Costs

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case United States v. Larry Braswell (2017)

Most recently applied in United States v. Larry Braswell (August 2017)

Acts 1931, ch. 82, § 15; 1937, ch. 245; C

How often courts cite this section

20062010201710
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) The headlights of every motor vehicle shall be so constructed, equipped, arranged, focused, aimed, and adjusted, that they will at all times mentioned in § 55-9-401, and under normal atmospheric conditions and on a level road produce a driving light sufficient to render clearly discernible a person two hundred feet (200') ahead, but shall not project a glaring or dazzling light to persons in front of the headlights. The headlights shall be displayed during the period from one-half (½) hour after sunset to one-half (½) hour before sunrise, during fog, smoke, or rain and at all other times when there is not sufficient light to render clearly discernible any person on the road at a distance of two hundred feet (200') ahead of the vehicle.

(2) Operation of headlights during periods of rain, as required in this section, shall be made during any time when rain, mist, or other precipitation, including snow, necessitates the constant use of windshield wipers by motorists.

(3) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who is arrested or receives a traffic citation for violation of subdivision (b)(1), upon conviction, shall not be fined more than the maximum fine nor less than the minimum fine as provided by law for the violation nor shall any cost be imposed or assessed against the person. The conviction shall not be reported to the department of safety under §§ 55-10-306 and 55-12-115.

(4) No cost shall be charged under this subsection (b).

(5) A violation of this subsection (b) is a Class C misdemeanor.

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.