Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-160 (2026)

• (a) No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle outside of the limits of an incorporated municipality, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with law or the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:
  • (1) On a sidewalk; provided, that a bicycle may be parked on a sidewalk if it does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian or other traffic, or such parking is not prohibited by ordinance;
  • (2) In front of a public or private driveway;
  • (3) Within an intersection;
  • (4) Within seven and one-half feet (71/2') to fifteen feet (15') of a fire hydrant. An incorporated municipality shall determine and shall appropriately identify the distance from a fire hydrant to stop, stand or park a vehicle; provided, that this distance conforms to this subdivision (a)(4);
  • (5) On a crosswalk;
  • (6) Within twenty feet (20') of a crosswalk at an intersection;
  • (7) Within thirty feet (30') upon the approach to any flashing beacon, stop sign or traffic-control signal located at the side of a roadway;
  • (8) Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within thirty feet (30') of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone, unless the department of transportation or local traffic authority indicates a different length by signs or markings;
  • (9) Within fifty feet (50') of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing;
  • (10) Within twenty feet (20') of the driveway entrance to any fire station and on the side of a street opposite the entrance to any fire station within seventy-five feet (75') of that entrance when properly signposted;
  • (11) Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when stopping, standing or parking would obstruct traffic;
  • (12) On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street;
  • (13) Upon any bridge or other elevated structure upon a highway or within a highway tunnel;
  • (14) At any place where official signs prohibit stopping; and
  • (15) In a parking space clearly identified by an official sign as being reserved for persons with physical disabilities, unless, however, the person driving the vehicle has a physical disability or is parking the vehicle for the benefit of a person with a physical disability. A vehicle parking in such a space shall display a certificate or placard as set forth in chapter 21 of this title, or a disabled veteran's license plate issued under § 55-4-256.

• (b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a certified police cyclist engaged in the lawful performance of duty using a police bicycle as a barrier or traffic-control device at the scene of an emergency or in response to other calls for police service.

• (c) No person shall move a vehicle not lawfully under that person's control into any such prohibited area or away from a curb such distance as is unlawful.

• (d)
  • (1) This section shall not apply to the driver of any vehicle that is disabled while on the paved or improved or main traveled portion of a road, street or highway in a manner and to an extent that it is impossible to avoid stopping and temporarily leaving the vehicle in such position.
  • (2) This section shall not apply to the driver of any vehicle operating as a carrier of passengers for hire who is authorized to operate such vehicle upon the roads, streets or highways in Tennessee, while taking passengers on the vehicle, or discharging passengers from that vehicle; provided, that the vehicle is stopped so that a clear view of the vehicle shall be obtained from a distance of two hundred feet (200') in each direction, upon the roads, streets or highways.
  • (3) This section does not apply to a solid waste vehicle while on the paved or improved main traveled portion of a road, street or highway in a manner and to an extent as is necessary for the sole purpose of collecting municipal solid waste, as defined by § 68-211-802; provided, that the vehicle shall maintain flashing hazard lights at all times while it is stopping or standing; provided further, that the vehicle is stopped so that a clear view of the stopped vehicle shall be available from a distance of two hundred feet (200') in either direction upon the highway. This subdivision (d)(3) does not preclude any claimant from pursuing a common law claim for recovery pursuant to common law negligence.
  • (4) This section does not apply to a recycling vehicle while on the paved or improved main traveled portion of a road, street, or highway in a manner and to an extent as is necessary for the sole purpose of collecting or transporting recovered materials or recyclable materials; provided, that the vehicle shall maintain flashing hazard lights at all times while it is stopping or standing; provided further, that the vehicle is stopped or standing so that a clear view of the vehicle shall be available from a distance of two hundred feet (200') in either direction upon the highway. This subdivision (d)(4) does not preclude any claimant from pursuing a common law claim for recovery pursuant to common law negligence.

• (e) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 584, s 3, eff. 7/1/2016.

Acts 1955, ch. 329, § 60; impl. am. Acts 1959, ch. 9, § 3; impl. am. Acts 1972, ch. 829, § 7; Acts 1978, ch. 810, §§ 1, 2; T.C.A., § 59-861; Acts 1981, ch. 261, § 12; 1983, ch. 128, § 1; 1985, ch. 138, § 2; 1989, ch. 591, § 113; 1992, ch. 784, §§ 3, 4; 1992, ch. 947, § 2; 1995, ch. 140, § 3; 1995, ch. 305, § 114; 2004, ch. 634, § 1; 2011 , ch. 47, § 56.