55-9-201 - Horn Bells, sirens or exhaust whistles on emergency vehicles Penalty for violations. - Tennessee Statutes

55-9-201. Horn Bells, sirens or exhaust whistles on emergency vehicles Penalty for violations.

(a)  Every motor vehicle, when operated upon any road, street or highway of the state, shall be equipped with a horn in good working order capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred feet (200¢), and it is unlawful, except as otherwise provided in this section, for any vehicle to be equipped with or for any person to use upon a vehicle any siren, exhaust, compression or spark plug whistle or for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning or to make any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device.

(b)  Every police, fire department and fire patrol vehicle, and every ambulance and emergency repair vehicle of public service companies used for emergency calls, shall be equipped with a bell, siren, or exhaust whistle of a type approved by the department, or local police authorities in incorporated cities or towns. Members of volunteer fire departments residing outside of incorporated communities may equip vehicles, to be used in fire patrol work, with warning devices of the type approved by the department or by the sheriff of the county in which the vehicles are to be operated.

(c)  (1)  Members of regular or volunteer fire departments may equip their privately owned vehicles to be used in responding to a fire alarm or other emergency with warning devices approved by the local fire chief, upon written certification to the local sheriff or police chief that the person is a member of the department. In the event the warning devices are abused or used for other than their intended purpose by a member of the fire department, the local fire chief shall revoke the member's privilege of using the warning devices and shall notify, in writing, the local sheriff or police chief of the revocation.

     (2)  Subdivision (c)(1) shall not apply to counties with populations of:

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according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census.

(d)  A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

[Acts 1931, ch. 82, § 13; C. Supp. 1950, § 2700.14 (Williams, § 2693); Acts 1965, ch. 255, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-901; Acts 1982, ch. 850, § 2; 1984, ch. 694, § 1; 1984, ch. 920, §§ 1-5; 1989, ch. 591, § 113; 1997, ch. 299, § 6.]