6/24/04-A bill that would have allowed prosecution of such offenses as tailgating and making obscene gestures while driving is dead.
HB1959, sponsored by Rep. Nathan Vaughn, D-Kingsport, was taken off consideration by the House Calendar and Rules Committee, effectively killing it for the year.
The bill would have made it an offense for a driver to do a variety of things “with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct another person,” Vaughn wrote.
Violators would have faced a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine. If the offending driver intended to injure another person, the offense would have carried a maximum penalty of 11 months, 29 days in jail and a $2,500 fine.
The bill’s Senate version – SB1871 – also failed passage.