Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-401 (2026)
Lights on vehicles other than motor vehicles - Visibility distance - Penalty
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) Every vehicle other than a motor vehicle, when traveling upon a state highway, state aid road or other road, highway or street under the control of the state, the federal government or any political division thereof, dedicated, appropriated or open to public use or travel, shall be equipped with a light attached to and on the upper left side of the vehicle, capable of displaying a light visible five hundred feet (500') to the front and five hundred feet (500') to the rear of the vehicle under ordinary atmospheric conditions, and the light shall be displayed during the period from one-half (1/2) hour after sunset to one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise and at all other times when there is not sufficient light to render clearly discernible any person on the road or highway at a distance of two hundred feet (200') ahead of the vehicle.
- (b) Cotton wagons used exclusively to transport cotton shall not be required to display the light described in subsection (a), but shall display:
- (1) A red tail lamp on the lower left corner of the rear of the wagon; and
- (2) A triangle-shaped slow-moving vehicle identification emblem meeting Standard S276.8 of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. The emblem shall be placed on the lower left corner of the rear of the wagon. The user of a cotton wagon shall be responsible for the proper function of the symbol or light, except for any malfunction resulting from the act or omission of another person.
- (c) No person shall operate on a highway a horse-drawn vehicle that is used on the highway primarily as a means of transportation during the period of time from one-half (1/2) hour before sunset until one-half (1/2) hour after sunrise and at all other times when there is not sufficient light to render clearly discernible any person on the road or highway at a distance of two hundred feet (200') ahead of the vehicle, unless the vehicle:
- (1)
- (A) Is equipped with two (2) reflective type lanterns, one (1) to be placed on the left side of the vehicle and one (1) to be placed on the right side of the vehicle with the lantern on the right side to be placed at least twelve inches (12") higher than the lantern on the left, and also has a minimum of one hundred square inches (100 sq. in.) of reflector tape placed on the rear of the vehicle, thirty-six inches (36") of reflector tape placed on each side of the vehicle, and twenty-four inches (24") of reflector tape placed at the highest point of the left front of the vehicle; and
- (B) Is equipped with one (1) red, battery-operated light-emitting diode (LED) flashing light located at the top left-hand corner on the rear of the vehicle. The light must be at least three inches (3") by three inches (3"); or
- (2)
- (A) Has a minimum of one hundred square inches (100 sq. in.) of reflector tape placed on the rear of the vehicle, thirty-six inches (36") of reflector tape placed on each side of the vehicle, and twenty-four inches (24") of reflector tape placed at the highest point of the left front of the vehicle;
- (B) Has six inches (6") of reflector piping tape placed on two (2) locations on the rear, left wheel of the vehicle; and
- (C) Is equipped with two (2) reflective type lanterns, one (1) to be placed on the left side of the vehicle and one (1) to be placed on the right side of the vehicle with the lantern on the right side to be placed at least twelve inches (12") higher than the lantern on the left. Each lantern must be equipped with a red reflective type lens that is at least three inches (3") by three inches (3").
- (1)
- (d) During the period of time from one-half (1/2) hour before sunset until one-half (1/2) hour after sunrise, any implement of husbandry as defined in § 55-1-108 having a width of more than ninety-six inches (96"), which is towed behind a farm tractor or other motor vehicle, and the lighting of the farm tractor or other motor vehicle is concealed by the implement of husbandry, shall be equipped with two (2) red or amber flashing lamps, one on each side, attached at the rear, or accompanied by a rear escort utilizing its emergency flashers.
- (e) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable only by a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00); except, the fine imposed for a violation of subsection (c) is ten dollars ($10.00).
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 477, s 2, eff. 1/1/2020.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 477, s 1, eff. 1/1/2020.
Acts 1931, ch. 82, § 15; 1937, ch. 245, § 5; 1941, ch. 121, § 1; C. Supp. 1950, § 2700.16 (Williams, § 2695); T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-904; Acts 1989, ch. 330, § 3; 1989, ch. 591, § 113; 1990, ch. 1006, § 1; 1993, ch. 489, § 1; 2003 , ch. 290, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7
cases, 1998–2020 · leading case: Gingerich v. Commonwealth, 382 S.W.3d 835 (Ky. 2012).
Gingerich v. Commonwealth, 382 S.W.3d 835 (Ky. 2012). “§ 56-5-4650 (South Carolina); Tenn.Code Ann. § 55-9-401 (Tennessee); Vt.”
United States v. McKissack, 76 F. Supp. 2d 836 (M.D. Tenn. 1999). “T.C.A. § 55-9-401 is titled “Lights on vehicles other than motor vehicles” and, as the title suggests, provides a list of lights required on vehicles other than motor vehicles.”
State v. Hunt, 302 S.W.3d 859 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). “In holding that section 55-9-404 applied by its own terms only to the last vehicle in a train of vehicles, the district court noted that other provisions of the Code, specifically section 55-9-401,^02, and -403, defined the requirements for single vehicles.”
State of Tennessee v. Jason Bradley Walters (Tenn. Crim. App. 2020). “Specifically, TCA § 55-9-401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 410, 414, and 415 all classify the level of misdemeanor a violation of that section carries.”
State of Tennessee v. Everett D. Robinson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-401 (a). However, we note as a matter of law that a violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.”
State of Tennessee v. Charlie E. Mullican (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “§ 55-9-406(a) which further provides: The headlights of every motor vehicle shall be so constructed, equipped, arranged, focused, aimed, and adjusted, that they will at all times mentioned in § 55-9-401, and under normal atmospheric conditions and on a level road produce a…”
State of Tennessee v. Fred Arthur Stier (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998). “” Instead, he was charged with violating Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-9-401(a), which provides as follows: Every vehicle other than a motor vehicle, when traveling upon a state highway, state aid road or other road, highway or street .”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-401(a) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Fred Arthur Stier (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998). “” Instead, he was charged with violating Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-9-401(a), which provides as follows: Every vehicle other than a motor vehicle, when traveling upon a state highway, state aid road or other road, highway or street .”
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