Skip to content

TCA 55-8-202

Motor vehicles equipped with autonomous technology

VIOLATIONViolation

What does this charge mean?

Motor vehicles equipped with autonomous technology — Violation.

Penalty Details

ClassificationViolation
Penalty SummaryViolation
(a) No political subdivision may by ordinance, resolution, or any other means prohibit within the jurisdictional boundaries of the political subdivision the use of a motor vehicle equipped with autonomous technology if the motor vehicle otherwise complies with all safety regulations of the political subdivision. Ask a traffic law question, get an answer ASAP!Thousands of highly rated, verified traffic lawyers. Parking violations, accidents, DUI/DWI, licensing, registration, and more Protect your vehicle and your rights with expert legal help now (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Dynamic driving task: means all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to operate a vehicle in on-road traffic. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Minimal risk condition: means a low-risk operating mode in which an ADS-operated vehicle when the ADS is engaged achieves a reasonably safe state upon experiencing a failure of the vehicle's ADS that renders the vehicle unable to perform the entire dynamic driving task. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Operator: 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 55-8-101Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Vehicle: 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) (1) “Autonomous technology” means technology installed on a motor vehicle that has the capability to drive the vehicle on which the technology is installed in high or full automation mode, without any supervision by a human operator, with specific driving mode performance by the automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task that can be managed by a human driver, including the ability to automatically bring the motor vehicle into a minimal risk condition in the event of a critical vehicle or system failure or other emergency event; (2) “Driving mode” means a type of driving scenario with characteristic dynamic driving task requirements including, but not limited to, the following: (A) Expressway merging; (B) High speed cruising; (C) Low speed traffic jam; and (D) Closed-campus operations; (3) “Dynamic driving task” means the operational and tactical aspects of the driving task, but does not include the strategic aspect of the driving task; (4) “Operational” means steering, braking, accelerating, and monitoring the vehicle and roadway; (5) “Strategic” means determining destinations and waypoints; and (6) “Tactical” includes, but is not limited to, the following: (A) Responding to events; and (B) Determining when to change lanes, turn, or use signals.
View on official sourceLast verified: Feb 26, 2026

Quick Facts

VIOLATION
TCA Section55-8-202