As used in this section and §§ 55-16-104 – 55-16-109:

(1) “Abandoned motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle that:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-16-103

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Dealer: means every person engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging vehicles of a type required to be registered and who has an established place of business for that purpose in this state. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Driver: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • 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
  • 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
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Semitrailer: 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 some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle. 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
  • Traffic: 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 55-8-101
  • 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
(A) Is over four (4) years old and is left unattended on public property for more than ten (10) days;
(B) Is in an obvious state of disrepair and is left unattended on public property for more than three (3) days;
(C) Has remained illegally on public property for a period of more than forty-eight (48) hours;
(D) Has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than forty-eight (48) hours; or
(E) Has been stored, parked or left in a garage, trailer park, or any type of storage or parking lot for more than thirty (30) consecutive days;
(2) “Curbstoning” means the selling, offering for sale, advertising for sale, or soliciting the sale of:

(A) Any motor vehicle without a properly endorsed certificate of title as required by § 55-3-127 by a person or entity engaged primarily in the sale of used motor vehicles if the person or entity is not licensed as a motor vehicle dealer under § 55-17-109; or
(B) More than five (5) motor vehicles in any twelve-month period when the motor vehicles are titled in the person’s name or the name of the entity engaged primarily in the sale of used motor vehicles if the person or entity is not licensed as a motor vehicle dealer under § 55-17-109;
(3) “Demolisher” means any person whose business is to convert a motor vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal, or otherwise to wreck or dismantle motor vehicles;
(4) “Immobile motor vehicle” means any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or combination or part of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that is immobilized and incapable of moving under its own power due to an accident, mechanical breakdown, weather conditions or other emergency situation;
(5) “Obvious state of disrepair” means a motor vehicle exhibiting one (1) or more of the following characteristics: inoperable under its own power, without one (1) or more wheels or inflated tires, burned throughout, or with more than one (1) broken window;
(6) “Police department” means the Tennessee highway patrol, the sheriff’s department of any county, or the police department of any city or town. In any county with a population of four hundred thousand (400,000) or more, according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census, with a metropolitan form of government, “police department” also means any department, board or commission designated by the legislative body of the metropolitan government to perform the duties of a police department specified in this chapter;
(7) “Possession,” as used in § 55-16-108(e), shall be construed to mean either physical possession or constructive possession by a unit of government. “Physical possession” means seizure and physical custody by a unit of government. “Constructive possession” shall be determined by the power and intent of a unit of government to control; and
(8) “Unattended motor vehicle” means any motor vehicle, semitrailer, or combination or part of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer, that is on public or private property, unattended by the owner or authorized driver, and interferes with or impedes the orderly flow of traffic, or a motor vehicle that is unattended by reason of the arrest of the driver of the motor vehicle.
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