Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-197 (2026)
Failure to yield right-of-way
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) Any person who violates subdivisions (a)(1)-(6) and the violation results in an accident resulting in serious bodily injury to or death of any person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor:
- (1) Section 55-8-115 by failing to drive on the right half of the roadway as provided in the section, except for those motor vehicles in compliance with § 55-7-115 or § 55-7-202;
- (2) Section 55-8-118 or § 55-8-119 by unlawfully overtaking and passing another vehicle as provided in those sections;
- (3) Section 55-8-128, § 55-8-129, § 55-8-130 or § 55-8-131 by failing to yield the right-of-way as provided in those sections;
- (4) Section 55-8-134, by failing to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in crosswalks as provided in the section;
- (5) Section 55-8-136, by failing to exercise due care as provided in the section; or
- (6) Section 55-8-175(c), by failing to overtake and pass a bicycle safely as provided in § 55-8-175(c).
- (b) For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "serious bodily injury" means:
- (1) Substantial risk of death;
- (2) Serious disfigurement; or
- (3) Protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member, organ or mental faculty.
- (c)
- (1) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor if the accident results in serious bodily injury of another.
- (2) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor if the accident results in the death of another.
- (d) The court shall send the department a record of any of the convictions of any of the sections indicated in subsection (a). The court shall indicate on the record or abstract whether the violation resulted in serious bodily injury of another or death of another.
- (e) Upon conviction, the court may revoke the license or permit to drive and any nonresident operating privilege of a person convicted under this section for a period of up to six (6) months, if the accident results in serious bodily injury of another, and up to one (1) year if the accident results in death of another.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 834, s 1, eff. 7/1/2016.
Acts 2007 , ch. 537, § 1; 2009 , ch. 342, § 1; 2011 , ch. 192, §§ 2, 3.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3
cases, 2012–2019 · leading case: State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel David Labrecque - Concurring/Dissenting (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019).
State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel David Labrecque - Concurring/Dissenting (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-197 (a)(3). Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-8-129, which is titled “Left turns; right of way,” provides as follows: (a) The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching…”
State of Tennessee v. Darnell Horton (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “On October 30, 2009, an arrest warrant was issued, charging the defendant with failure to yield the right of way in an accident resulting in death, a Class A misdemeanor, and failure to yield the right of way in an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class B…”
State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel David Labrecque (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “§ 55-8-197(b)(1)-(3). A defendant convicted of a felony or misdemeanor may be ordered to pay restitution to the victim or victims in conjunction with a sentence of continuous confinement in a local jail, workhouse, or department of correction.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-197(a) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel David Labrecque - Concurring/Dissenting (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-197 (a)(3). Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-8-129, which is titled “Left turns; right of way,” provides as follows: (a) The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-197(b)(1) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel David Labrecque (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “§ 55-8-197(b)(1)-(3). A defendant convicted of a felony or misdemeanor may be ordered to pay restitution to the victim or victims in conjunction with a sentence of continuous confinement in a local jail, workhouse, or department of correction.”
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