Sec. 4511.75. (A) The driver of a vehicle, streetcar, or | 8 |
trackless trolley upon meeting or overtaking from either
direction | 9 |
any school bus stopped for the purpose of receiving or
discharging | 10 |
any school child, person attending programs
offered
by community | 11 |
boards of mental health and county boards of mental
retardation | 12 |
and developmental disabilities, or child attending a
program | 13 |
offered by a head
start agencypassengers,
shall stop at least
ten | 14 |
feet from
the front or rear of the school bus and shall not | 15 |
proceed until
such school bus resumes motion, or until signaled
by | 16 |
the school
bus driver to proceed. | 17 |
(B) Every school bus shall be equipped with amber and red | 22 |
visual signals meeting the requirements of section 4511.771 of
the | 23 |
Revised Code, and an automatically extended stop warning sign
of a | 24 |
type approved by the state board of education, which shall
be | 25 |
actuated by the driver of the bus whenever but only whenever
the | 26 |
bus is stopped or stopping on the roadway for the purpose of | 27 |
receiving or discharging school children, persons attending | 28 |
programs offered by community boards of mental health and county | 29 |
boards of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, or | 30 |
children attending programs offered by head start agencies | 31 |
passengers. A
school bus driver shall not actuate the visual | 32 |
signals or the
stop
warning sign in designated school bus loading | 33 |
areas where
the bus
is entirely off the roadway or at school | 34 |
buildings when
children
or persons attending programs offered by | 35 |
community
boards of
mental health and county boards of mental | 36 |
retardation
and
developmental disabilitiespassengers are loading | 37 |
or unloading at
curbside or
at buildings when children attending | 38 |
programs offered by head
start agencies are loading or unloading | 39 |
at curbside. The visual
signals
and stop warning sign shall be | 40 |
synchronized or otherwise
operated as required by rule of the | 41 |
board. | 42 |
(C) Where a highway has been divided into four or more | 47 |
traffic lanes, a driver of a vehicle, streetcar, or trackless | 48 |
trolley need not stop for a school bus approaching from the | 49 |
opposite direction which has stopped for the purpose of receiving | 50 |
or discharging any school child, persons attending programs | 51 |
offered by community boards of mental health and county boards of | 52 |
mental retardation and developmental disabilities, or children | 53 |
attending programs offered by head start agenciespassengers. The | 54 |
driver of
any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley overtaking | 55 |
the
school
bus shall comply with division (A) of this section. | 56 |
(E) No school bus driver shall start the driver's bus until | 64 |
after
any child, person attending programs offered by community | 65 |
boards of mental health and county boards of mental retardation | 66 |
and developmental disabilities, or child attending a program | 67 |
offered
by a head start agencypassenger who may have alighted | 68 |
therefrom
has
reached a place of safety on the child's or person's | 69 |
passenger's
residence
side of the road. | 70 |
(2) In addition to and independent of any other penalty | 78 |
provided by law,
the court or mayor may impose upon an offender | 79 |
who violates this section a
class seven suspension of the | 80 |
offender's driver's license, commercial driver's
license, | 81 |
temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident | 82 |
operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(7) of | 83 |
section 4510.02 of the Revised Code. When a license is suspended | 84 |
under this section, the
court or mayor shall cause the offender to | 85 |
deliver the license to the court,
and the court or clerk of the | 86 |
court immediately shall forward the license
to the registrar of | 87 |
motor vehicles, together with notice of the court's
action. | 88 |
(2) "School bus," as used in relation to children who
attend | 92 |
a program offered by a head start agency, means a bus that is | 93 |
owned and
operated by a head start agency, is equipped with an | 94 |
automatically extended
stop warning sign of a type approved by the | 95 |
state board of education, is
painted the color and displays the | 96 |
markings described in section 4511.77 of
the
Revised Code,
and is | 97 |
equipped with amber and red visual signals meeting the | 98 |
requirements of
section 4511.771 of the Revised
Code, irrespective | 99 |
of whether or not the bus
has fifteen or more children aboard at | 100 |
any time. "School bus" does not
include a van owned and operated | 101 |
by a head start agency, irrespective of its
color, lights, or | 102 |
markings. | 103 |
Sec. 4511.771.
(A)(1) Every school bus shall, in addition to | 108 |
any other
equipment and
distinctive markings required pursuant to | 109 |
sections 4511.76, 4511.761,
4511.764,
and 4511.77 of the Revised | 110 |
Code, be equipped with signal lamps mounted as high
as | 111 |
practicable, which shall display to the front two alternately | 112 |
flashing red
lights and two alternately flashing amber lights | 113 |
located at the same level and
to the rear two alternately flashing | 114 |
red lights and two alternately flashing
amber lights located at | 115 |
the same level, and these lights shall be visible at
five hundred | 116 |
feet in normal sunlight. The alternately flashing red lights
shall | 117 |
be spaced as widely as practicable, and the alternately
flashing | 118 |
amber
lights shall be located next to them. | 119 |
(2) On and after the effective date of this section, every | 120 |
new school bus that is acquired by any person to transport school | 121 |
children, persons attending programs offered by community boards | 122 |
of mental health and county boards of mental retardation and | 123 |
developmental disabilities, or children attending a program | 124 |
offered by a head start agency shall be equipped with a single | 125 |
white strobe light, located in the middle of the bus roof. | 126 |
(B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever | 127 |
violates
this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If,
within | 128 |
one year of
the offense, the offender previously has been | 129 |
convicted of or pleaded
guilty to one predicate motor vehicle or | 130 |
traffic offense, whoever
violates this section is guilty of a | 131 |
misdemeanor of the fourth
degree. If, within one year of the | 132 |
offense, the offender
previously has been convicted of two or more | 133 |
predicate motor
vehicle or traffic offenses, whoever violates this | 134 |
section is
guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree. | 135 |
(B) Any lighted light or illuminating device upon a motor | 142 |
vehicle, other than headlights, spotlights, signal lights, or | 143 |
auxiliary driving lights, that projects a beam of light of
an | 144 |
intensity greater than three hundred candle power, shall be so | 145 |
directed that no part of the beam will strike the level of the | 146 |
roadway on which the vehicle stands at a distance of more than | 147 |
seventy-five feet from the vehicle. | 148 |
(C)(1) Flashing lights are prohibited on motor vehicles, | 149 |
except as a means for indicating a right or a left turn, or in
the | 150 |
presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring unusual care
in | 151 |
approaching, or overtaking or passing. This prohibition does
not | 152 |
apply to emergency vehicles, road service vehicles servicing
or | 153 |
towing a disabled vehicle, traffic line stripers, snow plows, | 154 |
rural mail delivery vehicles, vehicles as provided in section | 155 |
4513.182 of the Revised Code, department of transportation | 156 |
maintenance vehicles, funeral hearses, funeral escort vehicles, | 157 |
and similar equipment operated by the department or local | 158 |
authorities, which shall be equipped with and display, when used | 159 |
on a street or highway for the special purpose necessitating such | 160 |
lights, a flashing, oscillating, or rotating amber light, but | 161 |
shall not display a flashing, oscillating, or rotating light of | 162 |
any other color, nor to vehicles or machinery permitted by
section | 163 |
4513.11 of the Revised Code to have a flashing red light. | 164 |
(D)(1) Except a person operating a public safety vehicle, as | 172 |
defined in division (E) of section 4511.01 of the Revised Code,
or | 173 |
a school bus, no person shall operate, move, or park upon, or | 174 |
permit to stand within the right-of-way of any public street or | 175 |
highway any vehicle or equipment that is equipped with and | 176 |
displaying a flashing red or a flashing combination red and white | 177 |
light, or an oscillating or rotating red light, or a combination | 178 |
red and white oscillating or rotating light; and except. | 179 |
(2) Except a public
law enforcement officer, or other person | 180 |
sworn to enforce the
criminal and traffic laws of the state, | 181 |
operating a public safety
vehicle when on duty, no person shall | 182 |
operate, move, or park
upon,
or permit to stand within the | 183 |
right-of-way of any street or
highway any vehicle or equipment | 184 |
that is equipped with, or
upon
which is mounted, and displaying a | 185 |
flashing blue or a flashing
combination blue and white light, or | 186 |
an oscillating or rotating
blue light, or a combination blue and | 187 |
white oscillating or
rotating light. | 188 |
(3) Except a person operating a school bus equipped with a | 189 |
single white strobe light as required by section 4511.771 of the | 190 |
Revised Code, no person shall operate, move, or park upon, or | 191 |
permit to stand within the right-of-way of any public street or | 192 |
highway any vehicle or equipment that is equipped with and | 193 |
displaying a flashing white light that is not used in combination | 194 |
with a red or blue light as provided in this section. | 195 |