Riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) is an exciting manner to explore off-road trails. However, you should practice actress caution in order to avoid unnecessary trouble. In addition to exposing yourself to the run a risk of injuries while negotiating dangerous terrain, you lot may also unknowingly break the law. In Tennessee, there are laws that regulate the ownership and use of ATVs. Be enlightened of the following laws before you striking the trails on your ATV.

Registration and Licensing

motorcycle safty check

Image via Flickr by Skakerman

Every bit an ATV possessor in Tennessee, you lot aren't required to register your vehicle or apply for a special license to bulldoze it.

Nonetheless, you must attach a special identification plate or sticker to your vehicle that shows that yous were issued a certificate of title for it. All ATV owners who purchased their vehicles after June one, 1983, are required to have a certificate of title and a special identification device. The blazon of identification device that you need is determined by the country. This device is nontransferable and nonrenewable, which means that it will become invalid if you sell, transfer ownership of, or dismantle your ATV.

If you're a nonresident owner of an ATV, you don't need to obtain a certificate of championship in Tennessee if yous accept a valid out-of-state certificate of title or if your vehicle is registered in the other state and Tennessee. The requirements for obtaining a certificate of championship are subject to the approval of the commissioner. By regulation, the commissioner will provide guidelines explaining how ATV owners should apply for certificates of championship and the weather condition they are required to meet.

Safety Gear and Equipment

In Tennessee, ATV riders and passengers must clothing helmets while riding on streets, roads, or highways.

In addition, every ATV must be fitted with headlights and taillights. On a level road and in normal atmospheric conditions, the vehicle's headlights must emit enough low-cal to render a person 200 feet away clearly discernible. If you fail to meet the legal requirements for ATV headlights and taillights, you will exist committing a Class C misdemeanor, which is punishable past a maximum fine of $50. In add-on, you can operate an ATV only between 30 minutes after sunrise and xxx minutes before sunset.

Using ATVs on Highways

Tennessee police mostly prohibits the performance of ATVs on country highways or highways that are function of an interstate highway or a defense force highway system. In that location are, nonetheless, a number of exceptions, including:

  • Using an ATV for agricultural purposes.
  • Crossing a two-lane highway at a location where it'southward possible to cantankerous the route safely and quickly and at an angle of nigh 90 degrees to the management of the road.
  • Crossing a highway with more than 2 lanes or with limited access at a location designated by the Tennessee Section of Transportation or the local governmental authority every bit a place where ATVs are permitted to cantankerous the highway.
  • Crossing a highway with more than than two lanes or with limited access at a location where the Section of Transportation or the local governmental dominance has erected a sign indicating that ATVs are allowed to cantankerous.

In addition, ATVs can be moved adjacent to a roadway in a nonmechanical manner such that they don't interfere with highway traffic and are being moved only for the purpose of accessing or returning from an surface area that'due south designated for the operation of ATVs when no alternative routes are available. The Tennessee Department of Transportation or the local governmental authority may designate i or more access routes that atomic number 82 to a park next to a highway as suitable for the operation of ATVs. These admission routes may also exist able to be used by the public for pedestrian employ and off-highway vehicle travel.

In Tennessee, there are as well portions of particular roads and highways where you're allowed to operate a three- or iv-wheel ATV, such equally:

  • Oneida & Western Railroad Route betwixt its terminus and its intersection with Verdun Road, within the jurisdiction of Scott County.
  • Land Route 116 from Beech Grove Lane to Railroad Street, within the jurisdiction of Lake City in Anderson Canton.

Penalties and punishments for violating Tennessee's ATV laws vary significantly and depend on which type of offense was committed. They range from a modest fine to vehicle impoundment. In add-on to helping you avoid legal trouble, post-obit the aforementioned laws tin can also reduce your risk of accidents. Brand sure to enquiry the trails y'all're planning to explore earlier you hop on to your ATV.

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