Precautions Required for Prevention of Accidents

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Public Utilities and Carriers
  4. Operation of Railroads
  5. Precautions Required for Prevention of Accidents

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In order to prevent accidents upon railroads, the following precautions shall be observed:

  1. The officials having jurisdiction over every public road crossed by a railroad shall place at each crossing a sign, marked as provided by § 65-11-105. The county legislative body shall appropriate money to defray the expenses of the signs. The failure of any engine driver to blow the whistle or ring the bell at any public crossing so designated by either the railroad company or the public official shall constitute negligence with the effect and all as set forth in § 65-12-109;
  2. On approaching every crossing so distinguished, the whistle or bell of the locomotive shall be sounded at the distance of one fourth (¼) of a mile from the crossing, and at short intervals until the train has passed the crossing;
  3. Every railroad company shall keep the engineer, fireman, or some other person upon the locomotive, always upon the lookout ahead; and when any person, animal, or other obstruction appears upon the road, the alarm whistle shall be sounded, the brakes put down, and every possible means employed to stop the train and prevent an accident; and
  4. It is unlawful for any person operating a railroad to use road engines without having them equipped with an electric light placed on the rear of the engine, tank, or tender, which light shall be a bull's eye lens of not less than four inches (4") in diameter with a bulb of not less than sixty (60) watts power, so that such road engine can be operated with safety when backing and the light so placed shall be burning while any such engine may be used in any backing movement. Such lights shall be operated at night; and any person violating any of these provisions shall be fined the sum of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00), and not more than one hundred dollars ($100), for each offense.

Code 1858, § 1166 (deriv. Acts 1855-1856, ch. 94, §§ 1, 5-9; 1857-1858, ch. 44, § 3); Shan., § 1574; impl. am. Acts 1921, ch. 41, § 2; Acts 1925, ch. 133, § 1; mod. Code 1932, § 2628; Acts 1959, ch. 130, § 1; 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 36; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 65-1208; Acts 1982, ch. 632, § 1.

Cross-References. Automatic signals at crossings, §65-11-113.

Duty with respect to livestock on track, §65-12-114.

Highway crossings, construction and maintenance, §§65-11-107 —65-11-113.

Incline railroads, §§65-18-104,65-18-105.

Reward for apprehension of persons obstructing tracks, §40-8-102.

Tracks not to obstruct travel on highways, streets, and alleys, §65-6-122.

Textbooks. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 2 Tenn. Juris., Animals, §§ 12-15, 17; 2 Tenn. Juris., Appeal and Error, § 217; 4 Tenn. Juris., Automobiles, §§ 12, 13, 39; 5 Tenn. Juris., Carriers, §§ 10, 11; 19 Tenn. Juris., Negligence, §§ 6, 16, 20; 21 Tenn. Juris., Railroads, §§ 29-32, 34, 37, 41-43, 46; 23 Tenn. Juris., Street Railroads, § 6; 23 Tenn. Juris., Streets and Highways, § 43.

Law Reviews.

Torts—The Occupied Crossing Doctrine-Determining Contributory Negligence As a Matter of Law in Railroad Accident Cases, 53 Tenn. L. Rev. 435 (1986).

Attorney General Opinions. A county is required to reimburse various municipalities within the county for the entire expenses the cities have incurred in erecting railroad crossing signs, and such reimbursements should be from the county's general fund, since the county highway commission has no authority over those roads, OAG 01-066, 2001 Tenn. AG LEXIS 58 (4/30/01).

Under existing law, remote-controlled locomotives are authorized in Tennessee, OAG 04-022, 2004 Tenn. AG LEXIS 22 (2/11/04).


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