2019 Tennessee Code
Title 55 - Motor and Other Vehicles
Chapter 52 - Safety of Children
Part 2 - Child Safety in Operation of Off-Highway Motor Vehicles
§ 55-52-201. Definitions -- Offense of operation by minors.
(a) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)
(A) “Appropriate helmet” means, except as provided in subdivisions (a)(1)(A)-(C), a helmet that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards as specified in 49 CFR 571.218;
(B) Notwithstanding any provision in 49 CFR 571.218 relative to helmet penetration standards, ventilation airways may penetrate through the entire shell of the helmet; provided, that no ventilation airway shall exceed one and one-half inches (1½″) in diameter;
(C) Notwithstanding any provision in 49 CFR 571.218, the protective surface shall not be required to be a continuous contour; and
(D) Notwithstanding any provision in 49 CFR 571.218 to the contrary, a label on the helmet shall be affixed signifying that the helmet complies with the requirements of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Southern Impact Research Center (SIRC), or the Snell Foundation;
(2) “Off-highway motor vehicle” means a vehicle as defined in § 55-3-101(c)(2); and
(3) “Relative” means a person or persons in the lineal line of consanguinity to a property owner, a spouse, or person or persons in the lineal line of consanguinity of a spouse, and includes an individual in an adoptive relationship to a property owner or the spouse of the property owner.
(b)
(1) Except as provided in subdivisions (b)(2) and (3), it is an offense for any parent or legal guardian of a person under eighteen (18) years of age to permit that person to operate or be a passenger on an off-highway motor vehicle, unless the person is wearing an appropriate helmet for off-highway vehicles. A parent or legal guardian commits an offense under circumstances indicating that the parent or legal guardian of the person under eighteen (18) years of age knew or should have known that the child is or would be operating, or is or would be a passenger on an off-highway motor vehicle.
(2) Subdivision (b)(1) does not apply to a parent or legal guardian of a person under eighteen (18) years of age if the off-highway motor vehicle is being operated by a person under eighteen (18) years of age, or the person is a passenger on an off-highway motor vehicle, on the private property of the parent or legal guardian, or the private property of a relative.
(3) Subdivision (b)(1) does not apply to a parent or legal guardian of a person under eighteen (18) years of age if the off-highway motor vehicle is being operated by a person under eighteen (18) years of age who is commuting for the purpose of hunting and is in possession of a valid hunting license.
