§ 55-5-114 — Enforcement of motor vehicle laws - Penalties - Enforcement procedures - Operation without registration plates - Penalties - Failure to license mobile home or house trailer

(a) Employees of the department of safety shall be charged with the duty of policing and enforcing the motor vehicle laws administered by the commissioner of safety, and they shall have authority to make arrests for violations of the provisions, execute search warrants and do all the acts incident thereto in the same manner as other peace officers. The authority to weigh and inspect vehicles shall apply throughout the state, and the officer shall have authority to view the cargo and any bills or invoices or like evidence relating to the gross weight of the vehicle. It is lawful for the employees of the department of safety charged with the enforcement of this section to go armed while on active duty. (b) Any person, firm or corporation owning or operating any motor vehicle over the roads of this state in excess of the maximum limits provided in this title or with a greater gross weight than that authorized by the registration thereof commits a Class C misdemeanor. (c) (1) When any vehicle is found to be operated at a weight exceeding the maximum allowable under chapter 7 of this title, the operator may be required to reduce the weight to the maximum therefor specified in order to continue in operation. (2) Any vehicle transporting perishable commodities or livestock may be removed to the nearest place suitable for preserving the character of the cargo removed from that vehicle. (3) When any vehicle is seized, held, unloaded or partially unloaded under this subsection (c), the material shall be cared for by the owner or operator of the vehicle without any liability on the part of the department of safety's agent or officer or of the state or any municipality because of damages or loss. (d) No vehicle required to be registered under chapters 1-6 of this title shall be operated upon any highway unless there is attached thereto and displayed thereon, when and as required by chapters 1-6 of this title, a valid and outstanding registration plate or plates issued therefor to the owner thereof for the current registration year, or a registration plate or plates issued to the owner thereof with the proper tabs, sticker, or other device attached or affixed thereto indicating a valid renewal of the registration plate or plates. A violation of this subsection (d) is a Class C misdemeanor. (e) Any operator of a vehicle who fails or refuses to display the certificate of registration therefor and in the case of a freight vehicle refuses to submit the vehicle and load for a weighing when directed by an officer of the law or duly constituted agent of the commissioner of safety commits a Class C misdemeanor. (f) If any owner or operator fails to license a mobile home or house trailer within a period of fifteen (15) days after first occupancy requiring registration, or if any owner or operator fails to license a mobile home or house trailer prior to moving it on the streets or highways of the state, the person shall, in addition to other fees and taxes due, dating from the time of first use during a given registration year, be assessed a penalty of twenty percent (20%) of the amount of the registration fee and remit it as a part of the tax. (g) Any violation punishable under this section shall subject the offender to liability also for the payment of any applicable specific fee enumerated in § 8-21-901 and directed to be paid therein or by § 40-25-104 . Where imposed because of an arrest made or citation issued by an employee of the department of safety, the fee shall be paid over to the commissioner of safety and deposited by the commissioner of safety to the credit of the state treasurer and become a part of the general fund of the state.

Legislative History

Acts 1951, ch. 70, § 76 (Williams, § 5538.176); T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-509; Acts 1959, ch. 307, § 2; 1963, ch. 155, § 1; 1965, ch. 317, § 1; 1970, ch. 550, § 1; 1973, ch. 5, § 1; 1976, ch. 432, § 2; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 22, 36; T.C.A., § 59-514; Acts 1981, ch. 448, § 3; 1989, ch. 591, § 113; 1990, ch. 595, § 2; 2007, ch. 484, § 69.