Traffic Safety

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide details on enforcement mechanisms or penalties beyond specifying that violations are Class B misdemeanors subject only to fines.

Tennessee Traffic Safety Act

This bill requires proper adjustment of headlights when installing larger tires on cars and trucks under 10,000 pounds and prohibits installation of such tires if they violate bumper or frame height laws.

What This Bill Does

• Requires people who install bigger tires to adjust the car's headlights correctly according to original equipment manufacturer specifications.
• If someone installs bigger tires as part of their job, they must charge for fixing the headlights.
• Prohibits installing larger tires that cause bumpers or frames to violate existing laws.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who install tires on cars and trucks under 10,000 pounds.
• Drivers whose vehicles have larger diameter tires installed after they were made.

Terms To Know

Class B misdemeanor

A type of crime that is less serious than a felony but more serious than an infraction, usually punishable by fines and up to six months in jail.

Original equipment manufacturer (OEM)

The company that makes parts for cars when they are first built.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if someone installs larger tires without adjusting the headlights.
• It is unclear how this bill will be enforced or who will check compliance.
• The bill does not address other vehicle modifications beyond tire size and headlight adjustment.

Official Summary Text

This bill requires a
person or entity
that
installs tires on a passenger motor vehicle or truck less than 10,000 lbs. that are larger in total diameter than the original equipment manufacturer's tires installed when the vehicle or truck was manufactured and that are installed in accordance with
present law

to
properly adjust the headlights in accordance with the original equipment manufacturer's established specifications and allowable tolerances for the particular model and year. If the person or entity
is engaged in the business of installing tires, whether as the principal business of the person or entity or incidental to the person or entity's principal business, then the person
must
also charge a person for the adjustment of a vehicle's headlights.
A violation of these provisions constitutes a Class B misdemeanor, subject only to a fine of $250.

Additionally, this bill prohibits a
person or entity
from installing
tires on a passenger motor vehicle or truck less than 10,000 lbs. that are larger in total diameter than the original equipment manufacturer's tires installed when the vehicle or truck was manufactured so as to cause the bumper to violate
present law. A violation of this provision is a Class B misdemeanor, subject only to a fine of $250.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 395
By Rose

HOUSE BILL 1272
By Cochran

HB1272
001849
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55,
Chapter 9, relative to vehicle equipment.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 9, Part 4, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
55-9-411.
(a) A person or entity who installs tires on a passenger motor vehicle or truck
less than ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.) that are larger in total diameter than the
original equipment manufacturer's tires installed when the vehicle or truck was
manufactured and that are installed in accordance with § 55-9-215(g) shall properly
adjust the headlights in accordance with the original equipment manufacturer's
established specifications and allowable tolerances for the particular model and year. If
the person or entity is engaged in the business of installing tires, whether as the principal
business of the person or entity or incidental to the person or entity's principal business,
then the person shall also charge a person for the adjustment of a vehicle's headlights.
(b) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor, subject only to
imposition of a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-9-215, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(g)
(1) A person or entity shall not install tires on a passenger motor vehicle
or truck less than ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.) that are larger in total

- 2 - 001849

diameter than the original equipment manufacturer's tires installed when the
vehicle or truck was manufactured so as to cause the bumper to violate
subdivision (b)(1) or to cause the frame to violate subdivision (b)(4)(A).
(2) A violation of subdivision (g)(1) is a Class B misdemeanor, subject
only to imposition of a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.