55-10-117 - Removal of vehicles from accident scene where no personal injury has occurred. - Tennessee Statutes

55-10-117. Removal of vehicles from accident scene where no personal injury has occurred.

(a)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a motor vehicle involved in a traffic accident and the driver of the motor vehicle shall be subject to this section.

(b)  This section shall apply to any motor vehicle traffic accident that occurs on a divided, controlled access highway or interstate highway of this state.

(c)  When a motor vehicle traffic accident occurs with no apparent serious personal injury or death, the driver of each motor vehicle involved in the traffic accident, or any other occupant of any such motor vehicle who possesses a valid driver license, should remove the vehicle from the immediate confines of the roadway into a safe refuge on the shoulder, emergency lane, or median, or to a place otherwise removed from the roadway whenever, in the judgment of the driver, the moving of a vehicle may be done safely and the vehicle is capable of being normally and safely driven, does not require towing, and may be operated under its own power in its customary manner without further damage or hazard to itself, to the traffic elements, or to the roadway. The driver of the motor vehicle may request any person who possesses a valid driver license to remove the motor vehicle as provided in this section, and that person may comply with the request.

(d)  The driver or any other person who has removed a motor vehicle from the main traveled way of the road as provided in subsection (c) before the arrival of a law enforcement officer shall not be considered liable or at fault regarding the cause of the accident solely by reason of moving the vehicle pursuant to this section.

(e)  This section does not abrogate or affect a driver's duty to file any written report that may be required by law, but compliance with the requirements of this section does not allow a driver to be prosecuted for the failure to stop and immediately report a traffic accident.

(f)  This section does not abrogate or affect a driver's duty to stop and give information in accordance with law, nor does it relieve a law enforcement officer of the officer's duty to render a report in accordance with law.

[Acts 1997, ch. 242, § 1; 2000, ch. 806, § 2.]