55-9-106 - Studded tires. - Tennessee Statutes

55-9-106. Studded tires.

(a)  No person shall use a tire on a vehicle moved on a highway that has on its periphery any block, stud, flange, cleat, or spike or any other protuberances of a material other than rubber that projects beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire, except as otherwise provided in this section.

(b)  A person may operate on a highway a vehicle equipped with a tire that has imbedded in it wire or other material for improving traction on snow and ice during the period of October 1 through April 15 of each year. Such a tire shall be so constructed that the percentage of wire or other material in contact with the roadway does not exceed, after the first one thousand (1,000) miles of use or operation, five percent (5%) of the total tire area in contact with the roadway. During the first one thousand (1,000) miles of use or operation of any such tire, the wire or other material in contact with the roadway shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total tire area in contact with the roadway. The studded tires allowed by this subsection (b) shall not be used at any time on a vehicle with a maximum gross weight of more than nine thousand pounds (9,000 lbs.), unless this a vehicle is a school bus or an emergency vehicle.

(c)  It is permissible to use tire chains of reasonable proportions on any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice, or other condition tending to cause a vehicle to skid.

(d)  It is permissible to use farm machinery with tires having protuberances that will not injure a highway.

[Acts 1982, ch. 856, § 1.]