(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close to the scene of the accident as possible or shall return to and in any event remain at the scene of the accident. After all parties have determined and agreed that there is only damage to the vehicles and no suspected injury of any kind to drivers or passengers, all parties shall remain at the scene of the accident until the requirements of § 55-10-103 have been met. The stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary. The requirements of this subsection (a) apply to accidents occurring upon highways and the premises of any shopping center, trailer park, or apartment house complex, or any other premises that are generally frequented by the public at large.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-10-102

  • accident: includes any collision or crash, regardless of the degree of care exercised by the drivers involved or whether it was the result of criminal conduct. See Tennessee Code 55-10-101
  • ADS-operated vehicle: means a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system. 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • 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
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)

(1) Any person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) under those circumstances, in which damage done to vehicles or property not owned or operated by the person charged with a violation of this section does not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) or would appear to a reasonable person not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), commits a Class B misdemeanor and may be punished pursuant to § 55-10-301(b).
(2) Any person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) under those circumstances, in which damage done to vehicles or property not owned or operated by the person charged with a violation of this section exceeds one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) or would appear to a reasonable person to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), commits a Class A misdemeanor and in addition thereto may be punished pursuant to § 55-10-101(c).
(3) In addition to the penalties listed in subdivisions (b)(1) and (2), the commissioner of safety shall suspend the driver license or nonresident motor vehicle operating privilege of any person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) under those circumstances, if the person is also not in compliance with the Tennessee Financial Responsibility Law, compiled in chapter 12, part 1 of this title. Any suspension under this subdivision (b)(3) shall be for a minimum of one (1) year. Notice of the suspension of the driver license shall be sent by United States mail not less than twenty (20) days prior to the effective date of suspension. The notice shall state that the person is entitled to an administrative hearing held by the commissioner of safety, or the commissioner’s designee, pursuant to a request under § 55-12-103(a). A person whose motor vehicle operating privileges have been so suspended may obtain restoration of driving privileges by paying a restoration fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to the commissioner of safety following the expiration of the suspension period.
(c) With respect to an ADS-operated vehicle, as defined by § 55-30-102, the requirements of subsection (a) are satisfied if the motor vehicle’s owner, or a person on behalf of the motor vehicle’s owner, promptly contacts a law enforcement officer or agency to report the accident and the ADS-operated vehicle remains on the scene of the accident as otherwise required by law.
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