Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-146

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-146, part of Tennessee’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Tennessee, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Juvenile traffic offenders

Official statutory text

(a) All cases of alleged traffic violations by children coming within this part shall be heard and disposed of upon a traffic ticket or citation signed by a law enforcement officer that describes in general terms the nature of the violation. Such cases may be disposed of through informal adjustment, pretrial diversion, or judicial diversion; in any case, however, the child or the child's parents may request and shall be granted a hearing before the judge. (b) If the court finds that the child violated a traffic law or ordinance, the court may adjudicate the child to be a traffic violator, and the court may make one (1) or any combination of the following decisions: (1) Suspend and hold the child's driver license for a specified or indefinite time; (2) Limit the child's driving privileges as an order of the court; (3) Order the child to attend traffic school, if available, or to receive driving instructions; (4) Impose a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) against the child's parent or legal guardian; (5) Perform community service work in lieu of a fine; or (6) Place the child on probation pursuant to § 37-1-131(a)(2) . (c) In any case or class of cases, the judge of any juvenile court may waive jurisdiction of traffic violators who are sixteen (16) years of age or older, and such cases shall be heard by the court or courts having jurisdiction of adult traffic violations, or the child's parent or legal guardian may pay the stipulated fine to a traffic bureau. Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 312,s 9, eff. 5/8/2019. Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052,s 44, eff. 7/1/2018. Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052,s 43, eff. 7/1/2018. Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 600,s 11, eff. 7/1/2016. Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 45; T.C.A., § 37-245.
(a) All cases of alleged traffic violations by children coming within this part shall be heard and disposed of upon a traffic ticket or citation signed by a law enforcement officer that describes in general terms the nature of the violation. Such cases may be disposed of through informal adjustment, pretrial diversion, or judicial diversion; in any case, however, the child or the child's parents may request and shall be granted a hearing before the judge.
(b) If the court finds that the child violated a traffic law or ordinance, the court may adjudicate the child to be a traffic violator, and the court may make one (1) or any combination of the following decisions: (1) Suspend and hold the child's driver license for a specified or indefinite time; (2) Limit the child's driving privileges as an order of the court; (3) Order the child to attend traffic school, if available, or to receive driving instructions; (4) Impose a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) against the child's parent or legal guardian; (5) Perform community service work in lieu of a fine; or (6) Place the child on probation pursuant to § 37-1-131(a)(2) .
(1) Suspend and hold the child's driver license for a specified or indefinite time;
(2) Limit the child's driving privileges as an order of the court;
(3) Order the child to attend traffic school, if available, or to receive driving instructions;
(4) Impose a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) against the child's parent or legal guardian;
(5) Perform community service work in lieu of a fine; or
(6) Place the child on probation pursuant to § 37-1-131(a)(2) .
(c) In any case or class of cases, the judge of any juvenile court may waive jurisdiction of traffic violators who are sixteen (16) years of age or older, and such cases shall be heard by the court or courts having jurisdiction of adult traffic violations, or the child's parent or legal guardian may pay the stipulated fine to a traffic bureau.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 312,s 9, eff. 5/8/2019.
Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052,s 44, eff. 7/1/2018.
Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052,s 43, eff. 7/1/2018.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 600,s 11, eff. 7/1/2016.
Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 45; T.C.A., § 37-245.

Status: in_force

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.