Operation of Electric Bicycle on Street or Highway or Path or Trail

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Motor and Other Vehicles
  4. Operation of Vehicles — Rules of the Road
  5. Electric Bicycles
  6. Operation of Electric Bicycle on Street or Highway or Path or Trail

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    1. A class 1 electric bicycle or a class 2 electric bicycle may be operated on any part of a street or highway where bicycles are authorized to travel, including a bicycle lane or other portion of a roadway designated for exclusive use by bicyclists, the shoulder or berm, and any path or trail intended for use by bicyclists.
    2. A local government or state agency having jurisdiction over any part of any path or trail where bicycles are authorized to travel may regulate or prohibit, by resolution or ordinance if a local government or by rule or policy if a state agency, the operation of a class 1 electric bicycle or class 2 electric bicycle on that path or trail, if the local government or state agency determines that the regulation or prohibition is necessary, in the interest of public safety.
    3. No class 3 electric bicycle shall be operated on any part of a path or trail where bicycles are authorized to travel, unless the path or trail is within or adjacent to the street or highway, or the local governing body or state agency having jurisdiction over the path or trail permits, by resolution or ordinance if a local government or by rule or policy if a state agency, the operation of a class 3 electric bicycle on that path or trail.
    4. No electric bicycle shall be operated on any sidewalk unless the use of bicycles on sidewalks is authorized by resolution or ordinance if a local government or by rule or policy if a state agency, of the local government or state agency having jurisdiction over that sidewalk, and the electric motor is disabled.
    5. Any local resolution or ordinance or state agency rule or policy adopted in accordance with this subsection (a) shall use the definitions in this part for electric bicycle, class 1 electric bicycle, class 2 electric bicycle, or class 3 electric bicycle. References to motor vehicles in any local resolution or ordinance shall not be applicable to an electric bicycle.
    6. A person who knowingly operates an electric bicycle in violation of subdivision (a)(3) or (a)(4) commits a Class C misdemeanor.
  2. On any roadway, highway, or street, electric bicycles shall be restricted, limited, or excluded by local resolutions and ordinances to the same extent as bicycles are restricted, limited, or excluded.


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