(a) The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle only under the following conditions:

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

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-8-118

  • Bicycle: means every device propelled by human power upon which any person may ride, having two (2) tandem wheels, either of which is more than twenty inches (20") in diameter. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Bus: means every motor vehicle designed for carrying more than ten (10) passengers and used for the transportation of persons, and every motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Department: means the department of safety. 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
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Right-of-way: means the privilege of the immediate use of the roadway. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • School bus: means every motor vehicle owned by a public or governmental agency and operated for the transportation of children to or from school or privately owned and operated for compensation for the transportation of children to or from school. 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
  • Street: means the entire width between boundary lines of every way when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • 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
  • 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
(1) When the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn;
(2) Upon a street or highway with unobstructed pavement not occupied by parked vehicles of sufficient width for two (2) or more lines of moving vehicles in each direction; and
(3) Upon a one-way street, or upon any roadway on which traffic is restricted to one (1) direction of movement, where the roadway is free from obstructions and of sufficient width for two (2) or more lines of moving vehicles.
(b) The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right only under conditions permitting that movement in safety. In no event shall the movement be made by driving off the pavement or main-traveled portion of the roadway.
(c) When overtaking or passing upon the right of another motor vehicle pursuant to this section or other law, the person shall not operate the motor vehicle within a bicycle lane as defined in § 55-8-205.
(d)

(1) Notwithstanding this section, the driver of a bus operated by or for a publicly owned transit agency may overtake and pass a vehicle upon the right when operating on the shoulder or right-of-way of any highway on the state system of highways, including interstate highways, when authorized by the department of transportation. Except for authorized emergency vehicles, or recovery vehicles, as defined in § 55-8-132(d), when responding to an emergency call received from a law enforcement agency, the operation of a vehicle on the shoulder or right-of-way of a state highway other than a bus authorized by the department is an offense punishable as a Class C misdemeanor.
(2) The department is authorized to promulgate rules in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, to effectuate the purposes of subdivision (d)(1), including establishing procedures for authorizing the operation of a bus on the shoulder or right-of-way and regulations for ensuring the safety of passengers on a bus and in vehicles operating on the main traveled way of the adjacent highway or right-of-way, such as establishing a maximum speed limit of a bus, limiting the use of the shoulder or right-of-way during peak traffic periods, and installing signs indicating the shoulder or right-of-way is reserved for exclusive use by a bus.
(3) As used in this subsection (d), “bus” does not include a school bus.
(4) The department may take any action to obtain federal, state, or local assistance for any aspect of implementation of a program to allow a bus to utilize the shoulder or right-of-way of a state highway as provided in subdivision (d)(1); provided, that any funds used for the purposes of this subsection (d) shall be specifically appropriated by reference in the general appropriations act.
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