130th Ohio General Assembly
The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.

H. B. No. 524  As Introduced
As Introduced

128th General Assembly
Regular Session
2009-2010
H. B. No. 524


Representative Phillips 

Cosponsors: Representatives Driehaus, Walter, Okey, Yuko 



A BILL
To amend sections 4501.01, 4507.11, and 4511.01 and to enact sections 4511.072 and 4511.214 of the Revised Code to establish conditions for the operation of mini-trucks on certain roads.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4501.01, 4507.11, and 4511.01 be amended and sections 4511.072 and 4511.214 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 4501.01.  As used in this chapter and Chapters 4503., 4505., 4507., 4509., 4510., 4511., 4513., 4515., and 4517. of the Revised Code, and in the penal laws, except as otherwise provided:
(A) "Vehicles" means everything on wheels or runners, including motorized bicycles, but does not mean electric personal assistive mobility devices, vehicles that are operated exclusively on rails or tracks or from overhead electric trolley wires, and vehicles that belong to any police department, municipal fire department, or volunteer fire department, or that are used by such a department in the discharge of its functions.
(B) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle, including mobile homes and recreational vehicles, that is propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power or power collected from overhead electric trolley wires. "Motor vehicle" does not include utility vehicles as defined in division (VV) of this section, motorized bicycles, road rollers, traction engines, power shovels, power cranes, and other equipment used in construction work and not designed for or employed in general highway transportation, well-drilling machinery, ditch-digging machinery, farm machinery, and trailers that are designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a public road or highway for a distance of no more than ten miles and at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less.
(C) "Agricultural tractor" and "traction engine" mean any self-propelling vehicle that is designed or used for drawing other vehicles or wheeled machinery, but has no provisions for carrying loads independently of such other vehicles, and that is used principally for agricultural purposes.
(D) "Commercial tractor," except as defined in division (C) of this section, means any motor vehicle that has motive power and either is designed or used for drawing other motor vehicles, or is designed or used for drawing another motor vehicle while carrying a portion of the other motor vehicle or its load, or both.
(E) "Passenger car" means any motor vehicle that is designed and used for carrying not more than nine persons and includes any motor vehicle that is designed and used for carrying not more than fifteen persons in a ridesharing arrangement.
(F) "Collector's vehicle" means any motor vehicle or agricultural tractor or traction engine that is of special interest, that has a fair market value of one hundred dollars or more, whether operable or not, and that is owned, operated, collected, preserved, restored, maintained, or used essentially as a collector's item, leisure pursuit, or investment, but not as the owner's principal means of transportation. "Licensed collector's vehicle" means a collector's vehicle, other than an agricultural tractor or traction engine, that displays current, valid license tags issued under section 4503.45 of the Revised Code, or a similar type of motor vehicle that displays current, valid license tags issued under substantially equivalent provisions in the laws of other states.
(G) "Historical motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle that is over twenty-five years old and is owned solely as a collector's item and for participation in club activities, exhibitions, tours, parades, and similar uses, but that in no event is used for general transportation.
(H) "Noncommercial motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle, including a farm truck as defined in section 4503.04 of the Revised Code, that is designed by the manufacturer to carry a load of no more than one ton and is used exclusively for purposes other than engaging in business for profit.
(I) "Bus" means any motor vehicle that has motor power and is designed and used for carrying more than nine passengers, except any motor vehicle that is designed and used for carrying not more than fifteen passengers in a ridesharing arrangement.
(J) "Commercial car" or "truck" means any motor vehicle that has motor power and is designed and used for carrying merchandise or freight, or that is used as a commercial tractor.
(K) "Bicycle" means every device, other than a tricycle that is designed solely for use as a play vehicle by a child, that is propelled solely by human power upon which any person may ride, and that has two tandem wheels, or one wheel in front and two wheels in the rear, or two wheels in the front and one wheel in the rear, any of which is more than fourteen inches in diameter.
(L) "Motorized bicycle" means any vehicle that either has two tandem wheels or one wheel in the front and two wheels in the rear, that is capable of being pedaled, and that is equipped with a helper motor of not more than fifty cubic centimeters piston displacement that produces no more than one brake horsepower and is capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of no greater than twenty miles per hour on a level surface.
(M) "Trailer" means any vehicle without motive power that is designed or used for carrying property or persons wholly on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle, and includes any such vehicle that is formed by or operated as a combination of a semitrailer and a vehicle of the dolly type such as that commonly known as a trailer dolly, a vehicle used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage or supply and the farm when drawn or towed on a public road or highway at a speed greater than twenty-five miles per hour, and a vehicle that is designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a public road or highway for a distance of more than ten miles or at a speed of more than twenty-five miles per hour. "Trailer" does not include a manufactured home or travel trailer.
(N) "Noncommercial trailer" means any trailer, except a travel trailer or trailer that is used to transport a boat as described in division (B) of this section, but, where applicable, includes a vehicle that is used to transport a boat as described in division (M) of this section, that has a gross weight of no more than three thousand pounds, and that is used exclusively for purposes other than engaging in business for a profit.
(O) "Mobile home" means a building unit or assembly of closed construction that is fabricated in an off-site facility, is more than thirty-five body feet in length or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, is built on a permanent chassis, is transportable in one or more sections, and does not qualify as a manufactured home as defined in division (C)(4) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code or as an industrialized unit as defined in division (C)(3) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.
(P) "Semitrailer" means any vehicle of the trailer type that does not have motive power and is so designed or used with another and separate motor vehicle that in operation a part of its own weight or that of its load, or both, rests upon and is carried by the other vehicle furnishing the motive power for propelling itself and the vehicle referred to in this division, and includes, for the purpose only of registration and taxation under those chapters, any vehicle of the dolly type, such as a trailer dolly, that is designed or used for the conversion of a semitrailer into a trailer.
(Q) "Recreational vehicle" means a vehicular portable structure that meets all of the following conditions:
(1) It is designed for the sole purpose of recreational travel.
(2) It is not used for the purpose of engaging in business for profit.
(3) It is not used for the purpose of engaging in intrastate commerce.
(4) It is not used for the purpose of commerce as defined in 49 C.F.R. 383.5, as amended.
(5) It is not regulated by the public utilities commission pursuant to Chapter 4919., 4921., or 4923. of the Revised Code.
(6) It is classed as one of the following:
(a) "Travel trailer" means a nonself-propelled recreational vehicle that does not exceed an overall length of thirty-five feet, exclusive of bumper and tongue or coupling, and contains less than three hundred twenty square feet of space when erected on site. "Travel trailer" includes a tent-type fold-out camping trailer as defined in section 4517.01 of the Revised Code.
(b) "Motor home" means a self-propelled recreational vehicle that has no fifth wheel and is constructed with permanently installed facilities for cold storage, cooking and consuming of food, and for sleeping.
(c) "Truck camper" means a nonself-propelled recreational vehicle that does not have wheels for road use and is designed to be placed upon and attached to a motor vehicle. "Truck camper" does not include truck covers that consist of walls and a roof, but do not have floors and facilities enabling them to be used as a dwelling.
(d) "Fifth wheel trailer" means a vehicle that is of such size and weight as to be movable without a special highway permit, that has a gross trailer area of four hundred square feet or less, that is constructed with a raised forward section that allows a bi-level floor plan, and that is designed to be towed by a vehicle equipped with a fifth-wheel hitch ordinarily installed in the bed of a truck.
(e) "Park trailer" means a vehicle that is commonly known as a park model recreational vehicle, meets the American national standard institute standard A119.5 (1988) for park trailers, is built on a single chassis, has a gross trailer area of four hundred square feet or less when set up, is designed for seasonal or temporary living quarters, and may be connected to utilities necessary for the operation of installed features and appliances.
(R) "Pneumatic tires" means tires of rubber and fabric or tires of similar material, that are inflated with air.
(S) "Solid tires" means tires of rubber or similar elastic material that are not dependent upon confined air for support of the load.
(T) "Solid tire vehicle" means any vehicle that is equipped with two or more solid tires.
(U) "Farm machinery" means all machines and tools that are used in the production, harvesting, and care of farm products, and includes trailers that are used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage or supply and the farm, agricultural tractors, threshing machinery, hay-baling machinery, corn shellers, hammermills, and machinery used in the production of horticultural, agricultural, and vegetable products.
(V) "Owner" includes any person or firm, other than a manufacturer or dealer, that has title to a motor vehicle, except that, in sections 4505.01 to 4505.19 of the Revised Code, "owner" includes in addition manufacturers and dealers.
(W) "Manufacturer" and "dealer" include all persons and firms that are regularly engaged in the business of manufacturing, selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motor vehicles, at an established place of business that is used exclusively for the purpose of manufacturing, selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motor vehicles. A place of business that is used for manufacturing, selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motor vehicles shall be deemed to be used exclusively for those purposes even though snowmobiles or all-purpose vehicles are sold or displayed for sale thereat, even though farm machinery is sold or displayed for sale thereat, or even though repair, accessory, gasoline and oil, storage, parts, service, or paint departments are maintained thereat, or, in any county having a population of less than seventy-five thousand at the last federal census, even though a department in a place of business is used to dismantle, salvage, or rebuild motor vehicles by means of used parts, if such departments are operated for the purpose of furthering and assisting in the business of manufacturing, selling, displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motor vehicles. Places of business or departments in a place of business used to dismantle, salvage, or rebuild motor vehicles by means of using used parts are not considered as being maintained for the purpose of assisting or furthering the manufacturing, selling, displaying, and offering for sale or dealing in motor vehicles.
(X) "Operator" includes any person who drives or operates a motor vehicle upon the public highways.
(Y) "Chauffeur" means any operator who operates a motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, as an employee for hire; or any operator whether or not the owner of a motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, who operates such vehicle for transporting, for gain, compensation, or profit, either persons or property owned by another. Any operator of a motor vehicle who is voluntarily involved in a ridesharing arrangement is not considered an employee for hire or operating such vehicle for gain, compensation, or profit.
(Z) "State" includes the territories and federal districts of the United States, and the provinces of Canada.
(AA) "Public roads and highways" for vehicles includes all public thoroughfares, bridges, and culverts.
(BB) "Manufacturer's number" means the manufacturer's original serial number that is affixed to or imprinted upon the chassis or other part of the motor vehicle.
(CC) "Motor number" means the manufacturer's original number that is affixed to or imprinted upon the engine or motor of the vehicle.
(DD) "Distributor" means any person who is authorized by a motor vehicle manufacturer to distribute new motor vehicles to licensed motor vehicle dealers at an established place of business that is used exclusively for the purpose of distributing new motor vehicles to licensed motor vehicle dealers, except when the distributor also is a new motor vehicle dealer, in which case the distributor may distribute at the location of the distributor's licensed dealership.
(EE) "Ridesharing arrangement" means the transportation of persons in a motor vehicle where the transportation is incidental to another purpose of a volunteer driver and includes ridesharing arrangements known as carpools, vanpools, and buspools.
(FF) "Apportionable vehicle" means any vehicle that is used or intended for use in two or more international registration plan member jurisdictions that allocate or proportionally register vehicles, that is used for the transportation of persons for hire or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property, and that meets any of the following qualifications:
(1) Is a power unit having a gross vehicle weight in excess of twenty-six thousand pounds;
(2) Is a power unit having three or more axles, regardless of the gross vehicle weight;
(3) Is a combination vehicle with a gross vehicle weight in excess of twenty-six thousand pounds.
"Apportionable vehicle" does not include recreational vehicles, vehicles displaying restricted plates, city pick-up and delivery vehicles, buses used for the transportation of chartered parties, or vehicles owned and operated by the United States, this state, or any political subdivisions thereof.
(GG) "Chartered party" means a group of persons who contract as a group to acquire the exclusive use of a passenger-carrying motor vehicle at a fixed charge for the vehicle in accordance with the carrier's tariff, lawfully on file with the United States department of transportation, for the purpose of group travel to a specified destination or for a particular itinerary, either agreed upon in advance or modified by the chartered group after having left the place of origin.
(HH) "International registration plan" means a reciprocal agreement of member jurisdictions that is endorsed by the American association of motor vehicle administrators, and that promotes and encourages the fullest possible use of the highway system by authorizing apportioned registration of fleets of vehicles and recognizing registration of vehicles apportioned in member jurisdictions.
(II) "Restricted plate" means a license plate that has a restriction of time, geographic area, mileage, or commodity, and includes license plates issued to farm trucks under division (J) of section 4503.04 of the Revised Code.
(JJ) "Gross vehicle weight," with regard to any commercial car, trailer, semitrailer, or bus that is taxed at the rates established under section 4503.042 or 4503.65 of the Revised Code, means the unladen weight of the vehicle fully equipped plus the maximum weight of the load to be carried on the vehicle.
(KK) "Combined gross vehicle weight" with regard to any combination of a commercial car, trailer, and semitrailer, that is taxed at the rates established under section 4503.042 or 4503.65 of the Revised Code, means the total unladen weight of the combination of vehicles fully equipped plus the maximum weight of the load to be carried on that combination of vehicles.
(LL) "Chauffeured limousine" means a motor vehicle that is designed to carry nine or fewer passengers and is operated for hire on an hourly basis pursuant to a prearranged contract for the transportation of passengers on public roads and highways along a route under the control of the person hiring the vehicle and not over a defined and regular route. "Prearranged contract" means an agreement, made in advance of boarding, to provide transportation from a specific location in a chauffeured limousine at a fixed rate per hour or trip. "Chauffeured limousine" does not include any vehicle that is used exclusively in the business of funeral directing.
(MM) "Manufactured home" has the same meaning as in division (C)(4) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.
(NN) "Acquired situs," with respect to a manufactured home or a mobile home, means to become located in this state by the placement of the home on real property, but does not include the placement of a manufactured home or a mobile home in the inventory of a new motor vehicle dealer or the inventory of a manufacturer, remanufacturer, or distributor of manufactured or mobile homes.
(OO) "Electronic" includes electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or any other form of technology that entails capabilities similar to these technologies.
(PP) "Electronic record" means a record generated, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means for use in an information system or for transmission from one information system to another.
(QQ) "Electronic signature" means a signature in electronic form attached to or logically associated with an electronic record.
(RR) "Financial transaction device" has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 113.40 of the Revised Code.
(SS) "Electronic motor vehicle dealer" means a motor vehicle dealer licensed under Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code whom the registrar of motor vehicles determines meets the criteria designated in section 4503.035 of the Revised Code for electronic motor vehicle dealers and designates as an electronic motor vehicle dealer under that section.
(TT) "Electric personal assistive mobility device" means a self-balancing two non-tandem wheeled device that is designed to transport only one person, has an electric propulsion system of an average of seven hundred fifty watts, and when ridden on a paved level surface by an operator who weighs one hundred seventy pounds has a maximum speed of less than twenty miles per hour.
(UU) "Limited driving privileges" means the privilege to operate a motor vehicle that a court grants under section 4510.021 of the Revised Code to a person whose driver's or commercial driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege has been suspended.
(VV) "Utility vehicle" means a self-propelled vehicle designed with a bed, principally for the purpose of transporting material or cargo in connection with construction, agricultural, forestry, grounds maintenance, lawn and garden, materials handling, or similar activities, but in no event is used for general transportation. "Utility vehicle" includes a vehicle with a maximum attainable speed of twenty miles per hour or less that is used exclusively within the boundaries of state parks by state park employees or volunteers for the operation or maintenance of state park facilities.
(WW) "Mini-truck" means a motor vehicle that has four wheels, is propelled by an electric motor with a rated power of seven thousand five hundred watts or less or an internal combustion engine with a piston displacement capacity of six hundred sixty cubic centimeters or less, has a total dry weight of nine hundred to two thousand two hundred pounds, contains an enclosed cabin and a seat for the vehicle operator, resembles a pickup truck or van with a cargo area or bed located at the rear of the vehicle, and was not originally manufactured to meet federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Sec. 4507.11.  (A) The registrar of motor vehicles shall conduct all necessary examinations of applicants for temporary instruction permits, drivers' licenses, or motorcycle operators' endorsements. The examination shall include a test of the applicant's knowledge of motor vehicle laws, including the laws on stopping for school buses, a test of the applicant's physical fitness to drive, and a test of the applicant's ability to understand highway traffic control devices. The examination may be conducted in such a manner that applicants who are illiterate or limited in their knowledge of the English language may be tested by methods that would indicate to the examining officer that the applicant has a reasonable knowledge of motor vehicle laws and understands highway traffic control devices. An applicant for a driver's license shall give an actual demonstration of the ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the operation of a motor vehicle by driving the same under the supervision of an examining officer; for the purpose of the actual demonstration of ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control over a vehicle, each applicant shall use a vehicle that is able to be operated on any highway in the state. Except as provided in division (B) of this section, an applicant for a motorcycle operator's endorsement or a restricted license that permits only the operation of a motorcycle shall give an actual demonstration of the ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the operation of a motorcycle by driving the same under the supervision of an examining officer. Except as provided in section 4507.12 of the Revised Code, the registrar shall designate the highway patrol, any law enforcement body, or any other employee of the department of public safety to supervise and conduct examinations for temporary instruction permits, drivers' licenses, and motorcycle operators' endorsements and shall provide the necessary rules and forms to properly conduct the examinations. The records of the examinations, together with the application for a temporary instruction permit, driver's license, or motorcycle operator's endorsement, shall be forwarded to the registrar by the deputy registrar, and, if in the opinion of the registrar the applicant is qualified to operate a motor vehicle, the registrar shall issue the permit, license, or endorsement.
The registrar may authorize the highway patrol, other designated law enforcement body, or other designated employee of the department of public safety to issue an examiner's driving permit to an applicant who has passed the required examination, authorizing that applicant to operate a motor vehicle while the registrar is completing an investigation relative to that applicant's qualifications to receive a temporary instruction permit, driver's license, or motorcycle operator's endorsement. The examiner's driving permit shall be in the immediate possession of the applicant while operating a motor vehicle and shall be effective until final action and notification has been given by the registrar, but in no event longer than sixty days from its date of issuance.
(B)(1) An applicant for a motorcycle operator's endorsement or a restricted license that permits only the operation of a motorcycle who presents to the registrar of motor vehicles or a deputy registrar a form approved by the director of public safety attesting to the applicant's successful completion within the preceding sixty days of a course of basic instruction provided by the motorcycle safety and education program approved by the director pursuant to section 4508.08 of the Revised Code shall not be required to give an actual demonstration of the ability to operate a motorcycle by driving a motorcycle under the supervision of an examining officer, as described in division (A) of this section. Upon presentation of the form described in division (B)(1) of this section and compliance with all other requirements relating to the issuance of a motorcycle operator's endorsement or a restricted license that permits only the operation of a motorcycle, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue to the applicant the endorsement or restricted license, as the case may be.
(2) A person who has not attained eighteen years of age and presents an application for a motorcycle operator's endorsement or a restricted license under division (B)(1) of this section also shall comply with the requirements of section 4507.21 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4511.01.  As used in this chapter and in Chapter 4513. of the Revised Code:
(A) "Vehicle" means every device, including a motorized bicycle, in, upon, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except that "vehicle" does not include any motorized wheelchair, any electric personal assistive mobility device, any device that is moved by power collected from overhead electric trolley wires or that is used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, or any device, other than a bicycle, that is moved by human power.
(B) "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power or power collected from overhead electric trolley wires, except motorized bicycles, road rollers, traction engines, power shovels, power cranes, and other equipment used in construction work and not designed for or employed in general highway transportation, hole-digging machinery, well-drilling machinery, ditch-digging machinery, farm machinery, and trailers designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a street or highway for a distance of no more than ten miles and at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less.
(C) "Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle, other than a tractor, having a seat or saddle for the use of the operator and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, including, but not limited to, motor vehicles known as "motor-driven cycle," "motor scooter," or "motorcycle" without regard to weight or brake horsepower.
(D) "Emergency vehicle" means emergency vehicles of municipal, township, or county departments or public utility corporations when identified as such as required by law, the director of public safety, or local authorities, and motor vehicles when commandeered by a police officer.
(E) "Public safety vehicle" means any of the following:
(1) Ambulances, including private ambulance companies under contract to a municipal corporation, township, or county, and private ambulances and nontransport vehicles bearing license plates issued under section 4503.49 of the Revised Code;
(2) Motor vehicles used by public law enforcement officers or other persons sworn to enforce the criminal and traffic laws of the state;
(3) Any motor vehicle when properly identified as required by the director of public safety, when used in response to fire emergency calls or to provide emergency medical service to ill or injured persons, and when operated by a duly qualified person who is a member of a volunteer rescue service or a volunteer fire department, and who is on duty pursuant to the rules or directives of that service. The state fire marshal shall be designated by the director of public safety as the certifying agency for all public safety vehicles described in division (E)(3) of this section.
(4) Vehicles used by fire departments, including motor vehicles when used by volunteer fire fighters responding to emergency calls in the fire department service when identified as required by the director of public safety.
Any vehicle used to transport or provide emergency medical service to an ill or injured person, when certified as a public safety vehicle, shall be considered a public safety vehicle when transporting an ill or injured person to a hospital regardless of whether such vehicle has already passed a hospital.
(5) Vehicles used by the motor carrier enforcement unit for the enforcement of orders and rules of the public utilities commission as specified in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code.
(F) "School bus" means every bus designed for carrying more than nine passengers that is owned by a public, private, or governmental agency or institution of learning and operated for the transportation of children to or from a school session or a school function, or owned by a private person and operated for compensation for the transportation of children to or from a school session or a school function, provided "school bus" does not include a bus operated by a municipally owned transportation system, a mass transit company operating exclusively within the territorial limits of a municipal corporation, or within such limits and the territorial limits of municipal corporations immediately contiguous to such municipal corporation, nor a common passenger carrier certified by the public utilities commission unless such bus is devoted exclusively to the transportation of children to and from a school session or a school function, and "school bus" does not include a van or bus used by a licensed child day-care center or type A family day-care home to transport children from the child day-care center or type A family day-care home to a school if the van or bus does not have more than fifteen children in the van or bus at any time.
(G) "Bicycle" means every device, other than a tricycle designed solely for use as a play vehicle by a child, propelled solely by human power upon which any person may ride having two tandem wheels, or one wheel in the front and two wheels in the rear, or two wheels in the front and one wheel in the rear, any of which is more than fourteen inches in diameter.
(H) "Motorized bicycle" means any vehicle having either two tandem wheels or one wheel in the front and two wheels in the rear, that is capable of being pedaled and is equipped with a helper motor of not more than fifty cubic centimeters piston displacement that produces no more than one brake horsepower and is capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of no greater than twenty miles per hour on a level surface.
(I) "Commercial tractor" means every motor vehicle having motive power designed or used for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry any load thereon, or designed or used for drawing other vehicles while carrying a portion of such other vehicles, or load thereon, or both.
(J) "Agricultural tractor" means every self-propelling vehicle designed or used for drawing other vehicles or wheeled machinery but having no provision for carrying loads independently of such other vehicles, and used principally for agricultural purposes.
(K) "Truck" means every motor vehicle, except trailers and semitrailers, designed and used to carry property.
(L) "Bus" means every motor vehicle designed for carrying more than nine passengers and used for the transportation of persons other than in a ridesharing arrangement, and every motor vehicle, automobile for hire, or funeral car, other than a taxicab or motor vehicle used in a ridesharing arrangement, designed and used for the transportation of persons for compensation.
(M) "Trailer" means every vehicle designed or used for carrying persons or property wholly on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle, including any such vehicle when formed by or operated as a combination of a "semitrailer" and a vehicle of the dolly type, such as that commonly known as a "trailer dolly," a vehicle used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage or supply and the farm when drawn or towed on a street or highway at a speed greater than twenty-five miles per hour, and a vehicle designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a street or highway for a distance of more than ten miles or at a speed of more than twenty-five miles per hour.
(N) "Semitrailer" means every vehicle designed or used for carrying persons or property with another and separate motor vehicle so that in operation a part of its own weight or that of its load, or both, rests upon and is carried by another vehicle.
(O) "Pole trailer" means every trailer or semitrailer attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach, pole, or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregular shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections.
(P) "Railroad" means a carrier of persons or property operating upon rails placed principally on a private right-of-way.
(Q) "Railroad train" means a steam engine or an electric or other motor, with or without cars coupled thereto, operated by a railroad.
(R) "Streetcar" means a car, other than a railroad train, for transporting persons or property, operated upon rails principally within a street or highway.
(S) "Trackless trolley" means every car that collects its power from overhead electric trolley wires and that is not operated upon rails or tracks.
(T) "Explosives" means any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that is intended for the purpose of producing an explosion that contains any oxidizing and combustible units or other ingredients in such proportions, quantities, or packing that an ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by a detonator of any part of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous objects, or of destroying life or limb. Manufactured articles shall not be held to be explosives when the individual units contain explosives in such limited quantities, of such nature, or in such packing, that it is impossible to procure a simultaneous or a destructive explosion of such units, to the injury of life, limb, or property by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by a detonator, such as fixed ammunition for small arms, firecrackers, or safety fuse matches.
(U) "Flammable liquid" means any liquid that has a flash point of seventy degrees fahrenheit, or less, as determined by a tagliabue or equivalent closed cup test device.
(V) "Gross weight" means the weight of a vehicle plus the weight of any load thereon.
(W) "Person" means every natural person, firm, co-partnership, association, or corporation.
(X) "Pedestrian" means any natural person afoot.
(Y) "Driver or operator" means every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle, trackless trolley, or streetcar.
(Z) "Police officer" means every officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic, or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations.
(AA) "Local authorities" means every county, municipal, and other local board or body having authority to adopt police regulations under the constitution and laws of this state.
(BB) "Street" or "highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way open to the use of the public as a thoroughfare for purposes of vehicular travel.
(CC) "Controlled-access highway" means every street or highway in respect to which owners or occupants of abutting lands and other persons have no legal right of access to or from the same except at such points only and in such manner as may be determined by the public authority having jurisdiction over such street or highway.
(DD) "Private road or driveway" means every way or place in private ownership used for vehicular travel by the owner and those having express or implied permission from the owner but not by other persons.
(EE) "Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, except the berm or shoulder. If a highway includes two or more separate roadways the term "roadway" means any such roadway separately but not all such roadways collectively.
(FF) "Sidewalk" means that portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for the use of pedestrians.
(GG) "Laned highway" means a highway the roadway of which is divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for vehicular traffic.
(HH) "Through highway" means every street or highway as provided in section 4511.65 of the Revised Code.
(II) "State highway" means a highway under the jurisdiction of the department of transportation, outside the limits of municipal corporations, provided that the authority conferred upon the director of transportation in section 5511.01 of the Revised Code to erect state highway route markers and signs directing traffic shall not be modified by sections 4511.01 to 4511.79 and 4511.99 of the Revised Code.
(JJ) "State route" means every highway that is designated with an official state route number and so marked.
(KK) "Intersection" means:
(1) The area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or, if none, then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways which join one another at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area within which vehicles traveling upon different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict.
(2) Where a highway includes two roadways thirty feet or more apart, then every crossing of each roadway of such divided highway by an intersecting highway shall be regarded as a separate intersection. If an intersecting highway also includes two roadways thirty feet or more apart, then every crossing of two roadways of such highways shall be regarded as a separate intersection.
(3) The junction of an alley with a street or highway, or with another alley, shall not constitute an intersection.
(LL) "Crosswalk" means:
(1) That part of a roadway at intersections ordinarily included within the real or projected prolongation of property lines and curb lines or, in the absence of curbs, the edges of the traversable roadway;
(2) Any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere, distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the surface;
(3) Notwithstanding divisions (LL)(1) and (2) of this section, there shall not be a crosswalk where local authorities have placed signs indicating no crossing.
(MM) "Safety zone" means the area or space officially set apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and protected or marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be plainly visible at all times.
(NN) "Business district" means the territory fronting upon a street or highway, including the street or highway, between successive intersections within municipal corporations where fifty per cent or more of the frontage between such successive intersections is occupied by buildings in use for business, or within or outside municipal corporations where fifty per cent or more of the frontage for a distance of three hundred feet or more is occupied by buildings in use for business, and the character of such territory is indicated by official traffic control devices.
(OO) "Residence district" means the territory, not comprising a business district, fronting on a street or highway, including the street or highway, where, for a distance of three hundred feet or more, the frontage is improved with residences or residences and buildings in use for business.
(PP) "Urban district" means the territory contiguous to and including any street or highway which is built up with structures devoted to business, industry, or dwelling houses situated at intervals of less than one hundred feet for a distance of a quarter of a mile or more, and the character of such territory is indicated by official traffic control devices.
(QQ) "Traffic control devices" means all flaggers, signs, signals, markings, and devices placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic, including signs denoting names of streets and highways.
(RR) "Traffic control signal" means any device, whether manually, electrically, or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop, to proceed, to change direction, or not to change direction.
(SS) "Railroad sign or signal" means any sign, signal, or device erected by authority of a public body or official or by a railroad and intended to give notice of the presence of railroad tracks or the approach of a railroad train.
(TT) "Traffic" means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, trackless trolleys, and other devices, either singly or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel.
(UU) "Right-of-way" means either of the following, as the context requires:
(1) The right of a vehicle, streetcar, trackless trolley, or pedestrian to proceed uninterruptedly in a lawful manner in the direction in which it or the individual is moving in preference to another vehicle, streetcar, trackless trolley, or pedestrian approaching from a different direction into its or the individual's path;
(2) A general term denoting land, property, or the interest therein, usually in the configuration of a strip, acquired for or devoted to transportation purposes. When used in this context, right-of-way includes the roadway, shoulders or berm, ditch, and slopes extending to the right-of-way limits under the control of the state or local authority.
(VV) "Rural mail delivery vehicle" means every vehicle used to deliver United States mail on a rural mail delivery route.
(WW) "Funeral escort vehicle" means any motor vehicle, including a funeral hearse, while used to facilitate the movement of a funeral procession.
(XX) "Alley" means a street or highway intended to provide access to the rear or side of lots or buildings in urban districts and not intended for the purpose of through vehicular traffic, and includes any street or highway that has been declared an "alley" by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation in which such street or highway is located.
(YY) "Freeway" means a divided multi-lane highway for through traffic with all crossroads separated in grade and with full control of access.
(ZZ) "Expressway" means a divided arterial highway for through traffic with full or partial control of access with an excess of fifty per cent of all crossroads separated in grade.
(AAA) "Thruway" means a through highway whose entire roadway is reserved for through traffic and on which roadway parking is prohibited.
(BBB) "Stop intersection" means any intersection at one or more entrances of which stop signs are erected.
(CCC) "Arterial street" means any United States or state numbered route, controlled access highway, or other major radial or circumferential street or highway designated by local authorities within their respective jurisdictions as part of a major arterial system of streets or highways.
(DDD) "Ridesharing arrangement" means the transportation of persons in a motor vehicle where such transportation is incidental to another purpose of a volunteer driver and includes ridesharing arrangements known as carpools, vanpools, and buspools.
(EEE) "Motorized wheelchair" means any self-propelled vehicle designed for, and used by, a handicapped person and that is incapable of a speed in excess of eight miles per hour.
(FFF) "Child day-care center" and "type A family day-care home" have the same meanings as in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code.
(GGG) "Multi-wheel agricultural tractor" means a type of agricultural tractor that has two or more wheels or tires on each side of one axle at the rear of the tractor, is designed or used for drawing other vehicles or wheeled machinery, has no provision for carrying loads independently of the drawn vehicles or machinery, and is used principally for agricultural purposes.
(HHH) "Operate" means to cause or have caused movement of a vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley.
(III) "Predicate motor vehicle or traffic offense" means any of the following:
(1) A violation of section 4511.03, 4511.051, 4511.12, 4511.132, 4511.16, 4511.20, 4511.201, 4511.21, 4511.211, 4511.213, 4511.22, 4511.23, 4511.25, 4511.26, 4511.27, 4511.28, 4511.29, 4511.30, 4511.31, 4511.32, 4511.33, 4511.34, 4511.35, 4511.36, 4511.37, 4511.38, 4511.39, 4511.40, 4511.41, 4511.42, 4511.43, 4511.431, 4511.432, 4511.44, 4511.441, 4511.451, 4511.452, 4511.46, 4511.47, 4511.48, 4511.481, 4511.49, 4511.50, 4511.511, 4511.53, 4511.54, 4511.55, 4511.56, 4511.57, 4511.58, 4511.59, 4511.60, 4511.61, 4511.64, 4511.66, 4511.661, 4511.68, 4511.70, 4511.701, 4511.71, 4511.711, 4511.712, 4511.713, 4511.72, 4511.73, 4511.763, 4511.771, 4511.78, or 4511.84 of the Revised Code;
(2) A violation of division (A)(2) of section 4511.17, division (A)(1) of section 4511.214, divisions (A) to (D) of section 4511.51, or division (A) of section 4511.74 of the Revised Code;
(3) A violation of any provision of sections 4511.01 to 4511.76 of the Revised Code for which no penalty otherwise is provided in the section that contains the provision violated;
(4) A violation of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any section or provision set forth or described in division (III)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.
(JJJ) "Road service vehicle" means wreckers, utility repair vehicles, and state, county, and municipal service vehicles equipped with visual signals by means of flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights.
Sec. 4511.072.  (A) By ordinance or resolution, a local authority may authorize the operation of mini-trucks on a public street or highway under its jurisdiction in accordance with this section and any additional, more stringent requirements the local authority may establish. A local authority that authorizes the operation of mini-trucks shall do all of the following:
(1) Require any mini-truck operated on the public streets or highways to be equipped with all of the following:
(a) At least two headlights;
(b) At least two tail lights;
(c) Front and rear turn signal lights;
(d) An exterior mirror mounted on the driver's side of the vehicle and either an exterior mirror mounted on the passenger's side of the vehicle or an interior mirror;
(e) A windshield;
(f) A seat belt for the driver and front passenger;
(g) A parking brake.
(2) Require a vehicle owner who wishes to operate a mini-truck on the public streets or highways to submit the vehicle to an inspection conducted by a local law enforcement agency that complies with safety and equipment inspection requirements established by the department of public safety under section 4513.02 of the Revised Code and Chapter 4501:2-1 of the Administrative Code;
(3) Permit the operation on public streets or highways of a mini-truck only if the vehicle is properly equipped as required under this section and has passed the required vehicle inspection, is registered in accordance with Chapter 4503. of the Revised Code, is titled in accordance with Chapter 4505. of the Revised Code, and otherwise is operated in accordance with traffic laws of this state and related ordinances, except as to those provisions which by their nature can have no application;
(4) Limit the operation of mini-trucks to streets and highways having an established speed limit not greater than thirty-five miles per hour.
(B) The local authority shall notify the director of public safety, in a manner the director determines, of the authorization for the operation of mini-trucks within the jurisdiction of the local authority.
Sec. 4511.214.  (A)(1) No person shall operate a mini-truck upon any street or highway except upon a street or highway having an established speed limit not greater than thirty-five miles per hour where a local authority has granted permission for such operation in accordance with section 4511.072 of the Revised Code.
(2) Division (A)(1) of this section does not prohibit a person operating a mini-truck from proceeding across an intersection of a street or highway having a speed limit greater than thirty-five miles per hour.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates division (A)(1) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If within one year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one predicate motor vehicle or traffic offense, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If within one year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of two or more predicate motor vehicle or traffic offenses, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
Section 2.  That existing sections 4501.01, 4507.11, and 4511.01 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3.  Section 4507.11 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 600 and S.B. 271 of the 123rd General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.
Please send questions and comments to the Webmaster.
© 2024 Legislative Information Systems | Disclaimer