Tennessee bill makes obstructing highways a felony, grants immunity to drivers who unintentionally hit someone – IOTW Report

Tennessee bill makes obstructing highways a felony, grants immunity to drivers who unintentionally hit someone

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A bill in the Tennessee General Assembly would make obstructing a highway a felony. It would also grant immunity to drivers who unintentionally injure or kill someone blocking a highway.

The House Criminal Justice Committee recommended HB 513 for passage on Wednesday.

The bill would upgrade the offense of obstructing a highway or street from a Class B or C misdemeanor to a Class E felony. It would also apply to obstructing a railway, waterway, hallway, “or any other place used for the passage of persons, vehicles or conveyances.” read more

h/t Doc

25 Comments on Tennessee bill makes obstructing highways a felony, grants immunity to drivers who unintentionally hit someone

  1. “Couldn’t the feds come in with a trial for civil rights violation?”

    If I understand it (the reporting is not very detailed) this would increase penalties for existing State violations, pedestrians on the interstates are already banned under Federal guidelines with enforcement left up to the States, and would only apply to someone hitting them when they are deliberately illegally on the highway and hitting them is unintentional (an accident).

    This wouldn’t be covered under civil rights laws since they would be intentional crimes and unintended accidents resulting from those crimes. Intentionally hitting of one of them is now and would still be illegal.

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  2. …so you’ll spend a day in court in front of a Democrat judge, and after they show a grainy traffic cam or phone video and a breif analysis of your brake light activity, the angle your car was at, and some of your social media posts showing you’re a Trump supporters, they will decide its not an accident and off to prison you go.

    Not good enough.

    If you’re on a highway, in a group actively blocking traffic, your life should be forfeit.

    No ifs, ands, or buts.

    This is too easy to manipulate, and most people can’t afford lawyers to defend themselves against unlimited Democrat civil and criminal harrasing prosecution. This doesn’t help that.

    A group of people stopping cars should be automatically regarded as a deadly threat as their intent is clearly violent and they could cause deadly wrecks even if it isn’t. Hitying them with a car should be regarded as automatic self-defense as they have no business there, so if you hit one accidentally or ten on purpose, it should not matter.

    Blocking highways is a threat to driver life and limb.

    It should be addressable as such…

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  3. Good idea but I think they need to carefully define [while participating in a] “riot” and make sure that lawful and peaceful demonstrations and parades are not unintentionally included.

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  4. The law will get misused. Circus elephant runs on the highway, felony.
    Tire falls off car, felony. Tree falls in road, felony. They will find a misuse for the law.

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  5. “…Under the legislation, if a driver “who is exercising due care” unintentionally injures or kills someone…”

    “Exercizing due care”? In my legal dictionary, that would be due care for the driver’s safety and well being, as stopping would put his life at extreme risk for injury or death.

    I say put the pedal to the metal and break on through to the other side.

    2
  6. @Billy Fuster
    “…I see a great business opportunity for selling bumper attachments…”

    We’ll call them Bumper Stickers.

    When the protesters land on the ground after being catapulted into the air. the driver says “man, did he ever stick that landing!”

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  7. In Australia they have these bigass Roo Bars for pickups driving in the Outback. The bloody Roos don’t damage your pickup but make a loud “boooong” sound when bounces off the Roof Bar

    Order em on the Internets. I think they can be bolted on.

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