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Am. S. B. No. 252 As Reported by the Senate Highways and Transportation CommitteeAs Reported by the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 3781.111, 4510.31, 4511.01,
4511.041, 4511.09, 4511.102, 4511.103, 4511.105,
4511.106, 4511.11, 4511.13, 4511.131, 4511.14,
4511.37, 4511.69, and 4955.33 and to repeal
section 4511.15 of the Revised Code to make
changes in certain provisions relating to road
signs and traffic signals for purposes of the Ohio
Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3781.111, 4510.31, 4511.01,
4511.041, 4511.09, 4511.102, 4511.103, 4511.105, 4511.106,
4511.11, 4511.13, 4511.131, 4511.14, 4511.37, 4511.69, and 4955.33
of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3781.111. (A) In addition to the powers conferred by
any other section of the Revised Code, the board of building
standards shall adopt standards and rules to facilitate the
reasonable access and use by all persons with a disability of all
buildings and the facilities of buildings for which plans are
submitted for approval under section 3791.04 of the Revised Code.
No standard or rule shall be applied to any building the plans or
drawings, specifications, and date of which have been approved
prior to the time that the standard or rule takes effect.
(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
standards and rules adopted by the board pursuant to this section
shall be in accordance with the "Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990," 104 Stat. 327, 42 U.S.C.A. 12101, as amended, and the
"Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1619, 42 U.S.C.A.
3601, as amended.
(2) For purposes of enforcement by the Ohio civil rights
commission only, approval of a plan as required under section
3791.04 of the Revised Code creates a rebuttable presumption that
the plans, drawings, specifications, or data submitted are in
compliance with the rules adopted by the board pursuant to this
section as they relate to accessibility.
(C) All signs posted to designate special parking locations
for persons with a disability and persons with disabilities that
limit or impair the ability to walk in accordance with division
(E) of section 4511.69 of the Revised Code and the standards and
rules adopted pursuant to this section shall be mounted on a fixed
or movable post or otherwise affixed in a vertical position
at a
height so that the distance from the ground to the bottom edge of
the sign is clearly visible to the driver of a vehicle when parked
in such a location measures not less than five feet. If a new sign
or a replacement sign designating a special parking location is
posted on or after October 14, 1999, there also shall be affixed
upon the surface of that sign or affixed next to the designating
sign a notice that states the fine applicable for the offense of
parking a motor vehicle in the special designated parking location
if the motor vehicle is not legally entitled to be parked in that
location.
(D) As used in this section, "disability" has the same
meaning as in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code. As used in
division (C) of this section, "persons with disabilities that
limit or impair the ability to walk" has the same meaning as in
division (A)(1) of section 4503.44 of the Revised Code.
(E) No owner of a building or facility where special parking
locations for persons with a disability must be designated in
accordance with the standards and rules adopted pursuant to this
section shall fail to properly mark the special parking locations
as required by those standards and rules or fail to maintain the
markings of the special parking locations, including the erection
and maintenance of the fixed or movable signs.
(F) The board annually shall provide statewide training on
the rules adopted by the board pursuant to this section as they
relate to accessibility for nonresidential building department
personnel certified by the board who approve, review plans, and
inspect nonresidential construction.
Sec. 4510.31. (A)(1) Except as provided in division (C) of
this section, the registrar of motor vehicles shall suspend the
probationary driver's license, restricted license, or temporary
instruction permit issued to any person when the person has been
convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or been adjudicated in juvenile
court of having committed, prior to the person's eighteenth
birthday, any of the following:
(a) Three separate violations of section 2903.06, 2903.08,
2921.331, 4511.12, 4511.13,
4511.15, 4511.191, 4511.20, 4511.201,
4511.202, 4511.21, 4511.22, 4511.23, 4511.25 to 4511.48, 4511.57
to 4511.65, 4511.75, 4549.02, 4549.021, or 4549.03 of the Revised
Code, section 4510.14 of the Revised Code involving a suspension
imposed under section 4511.191 or 4511.196 of the Revised Code,
section 2903.04 of the Revised Code in a case in which the person
would have been subject to the sanctions described in division (D)
of that section had the person been convicted of the violation of
that section, former section 2903.07 of the Revised Code, or any
municipal ordinances similarly relating to the offenses referred
to in those sections;
(b) One violation of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or a
substantially similar municipal ordinance;
(c) Two separate violations of any of the Revised Code
sections referred to in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, or any
municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any of those
sections.
(2) Any person whose license or permit is suspended under
division (A)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section shall mail or
deliver the person's probationary driver's license, restricted
license, or temporary instruction permit to the registrar within
fourteen days of notification of the suspension. The registrar
shall retain the license or permit during the period of the
suspension. A suspension pursuant to division (A)(1)(a) of this
section shall be a class C suspension, a suspension pursuant to
division (A)(1)(b) of this section shall be a class D suspension,
and a suspension pursuant to division (A)(1)(c) of this section
shall be a class E suspension, all for the periods of time
specified in division (B) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code.
If the person's probationary driver's license, restricted license,
or temporary instruction permit is under suspension on the date
the court imposes sentence upon the person for a violation
described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, the suspension
shall take effect on the next day immediately following the end of
that period of suspension. If the person is sixteen years of age
or older and pleads guilty to or is convicted of a violation
described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section and the person
does not have a current, valid probationary driver's license,
restricted license, or temporary instruction permit, the registrar
shall deny the issuance to the person of a probationary driver's
license, restricted license, driver's license, commercial driver's
license, or temporary instruction permit, as the case may be, for
six months beginning on the date the court imposes sentence upon
the person for the violation. If the person has not attained the
age of sixteen years on the date the court imposes sentence upon
the person for the violation, the period of denial shall commence
on the date the person attains the age of sixteen years.
(3) The registrar shall suspend the person's license or
permit under division (A) of this section regardless of whether
the disposition of the case in juvenile court occurred after the
person's eighteenth birthday.
(B) The registrar also shall impose a class D suspension for
the period of time specified in division (B)(4) of section 4510.02
of the Revised Code of the temporary instruction permit or
probationary driver's license of any person under the age of
eighteen who has been adjudicated an unruly child, delinquent
child, or juvenile traffic offender for having committed any act
that if committed by an adult would be a drug abuse offense or a
violation of division (B) of section 2917.11 of the Revised Code.
The registrar, in the registrar's discretion, may terminate the
suspension if the child, at the discretion of the court, attends
and satisfactorily completes a drug abuse or alcohol abuse
education, intervention, or treatment program specified by the
court. Any person whose temporary instruction permit or
probationary driver's license is suspended under this division
shall mail or deliver the person's permit or license to the
registrar within fourteen days of notification of the suspension.
The registrar shall retain the permit or license during the period
of the suspension.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(3) of this section,
for any person who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is
adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed a second or
third violation of section 4511.12, 4511.13, 4511.15, 4511.20 to
4511.23, 4511.25, 4511.26 to 4511.48, 4511.57 to 4511.65, or
4511.75 of the Revised Code or any similar municipal ordinances
and whose license or permit is suspended under division (A)(1)(a)
or (c) of this section, the court in which the second or third
conviction, finding, plea, or adjudication resulting in the
suspension was made, upon petition of the person, may grant the
person limited driving privileges during the period during which
the suspension otherwise would be imposed under division (A)(1)(a)
or (c) of this section if the court finds reasonable cause to
believe that the suspension will seriously affect the person's
ability to continue in employment, educational training,
vocational training, or treatment. In granting the limited driving
privileges, the court shall specify the purposes, times, and
places of the privileges and may impose any other conditions upon
the person's driving a motor vehicle that the court considers
reasonable and necessary.
A court that grants limited driving privileges to a person
under this division shall retain the person's probationary
driver's license, restricted license, or temporary instruction
permit during the period the license or permit is suspended and
also during the period for which limited driving privileges are
granted, and shall deliver to the person a permit card, in a form
to be prescribed by the court, setting forth the date on which the
limited driving privileges will become effective, the purposes for
which the person may drive, the times and places at which the
person may drive, and any other conditions imposed upon the
person's use of a motor vehicle.
The court immediately shall notify the registrar, in writing,
of a grant of limited driving privileges under this division. The
notification shall specify the date on which the limited driving
privileges will become effective, the purposes for which the
person may drive, the times and places at which the person may
drive, and any other conditions imposed upon the person's use of a
motor vehicle. The registrar shall not suspend the probationary
driver's license, restricted license, or temporary instruction
permit of any person pursuant to division (A) of this section
during any period for which the person has been granted limited
driving privileges as provided in this division, if the registrar
has received the notification described in this division from the
court.
(2) Except as provided in division (C)(3) of this section, in
any case in which the temporary instruction permit or probationary
driver's license of a person under eighteen years of age has been
suspended under division (A) or (B) of this section or any other
provision of law, the court may grant the person limited driving
privileges for the purpose of the person's practicing of driving
with the person's parent, guardian, or other custodian during the
period of the suspension. Any grant of limited driving privileges
under this division shall comply with division (D) of section
4510.021 of the Revised Code.
(3) A court shall not grant limited driving privileges to a
person identified in division (C)(1) or (2) of this section if the
person, within the preceding six years, has been convicted of,
pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated in juvenile court of having
committed three or more violations of one or more of the divisions
or sections set forth in divisions (G)(2)(b) to (g) of section
2919.22 of the Revised Code.
(D) If a person who has been granted limited driving
privileges under division (C) of this section is convicted of,
pleads guilty to, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having
committed, a violation of Chapter 4510. of the Revised Code, or a
subsequent violation of any of the sections of the Revised Code
listed in division (A)(1)(a) of this section or any similar
municipal ordinance during the period for which the person was
granted limited driving privileges, the court that granted the
limited driving privileges shall suspend the person's permit card.
The court or the clerk of the court immediately shall forward the
person's probationary driver's license, restricted license, or
temporary instruction permit together with written notification of
the court's action to the registrar. Upon receipt of the license
or permit and notification, the registrar shall impose a class C
suspension of the person's probationary driver's license,
restricted license, or temporary instruction permit for the period
of time specified in division (B)(3) of section 4510.02 of the
Revised Code. The registrar shall retain the license or permit
during the period of suspension, and no further limited driving
privileges shall be granted during that period.
(E) No application for a driver's or commercial driver's
license shall be received from any person whose probationary
driver's license, restricted license, or temporary instruction
permit has been suspended under this section until each of the
following has occurred:
(1) The suspension period has expired;
(2) A temporary instruction permit or commercial driver's
license temporary instruction permit has been issued;
(3) The person successfully completes a juvenile driver
improvement program approved by the registrar under section
4510.311 of the Revised Code;
(4) The applicant has submitted to the examination for a
driver's license as provided for in section 4507.11 or a
commercial driver's license as provided in Chapter 4506. 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 that join one another
at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area within which
vehicles traveling upon different highways joining that join at
any other angle may might come in into conflict.
The junction of
an alley or driveway with a roadway or highway does not constitute
an intersection unless the roadway or highway at the junction is
controlled by a traffic control device.
(2) Where If a highway includes two roadways that are thirty
feet or more apart, then every crossing of each roadway of such
divided highway by an intersecting highway shall be regarded as
constitutes a separate intersection. If an both intersecting
highway also includes highways include two roadways thirty feet or
more apart, then every crossing of
any two roadways of such
highways shall be regarded as constitutes a separate intersection.
(3) The junction of an alley with a street or highway, or
with another alley, shall not constitute an intersection At a
location controlled by a traffic control signal, regardless of the
distance between the separate intersections as described in
division (KK)(2) of this section:
(a) If a stop line, yield line, or crosswalk has not been
designated on the roadway within the median between the separate
intersections, the two intersections and the roadway and median
constitute one intersection.
(b) Where a stop line, yield line, or crosswalk line is
designated on the roadway on the intersection approach, the area
within the crosswalk and any area beyond the designated stop line
or yield line constitute part of the intersection.
(c) Where a crosswalk is designated on a roadway on the
departure from the intersection, the intersection includes the
area that extends to the far side of the crosswalk.
(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 device" means all flaggers a
flagger, signs sign,
signals signal, markings marking, and devices
placed or erected or other device used to regulate, warn, or guide
traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway,
private road open to public travel, pedestrian facility, or
shared-use path by authority of a public body agency or official
having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or
guiding traffic, including signs denoting names of streets and
highways or, in the case of a private road open to public travel,
by authority of the private owner or private official having
jurisdiction.
(RR) "Traffic control signal" means any device, whether
manually, electrically, or mechanically operated, highway traffic
signal by which traffic is alternately directed to stop, to
proceed, to change direction, or not and permitted to change
direction proceed.
(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 any highway or private road open to public 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,
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.
(KKK) "Beacon" means a highway traffic signal with one or
more signal sections that operate in a flashing mode.
(LLL) "Hybrid beacon" means a type of beacon that is
intentionally placed in a dark mode between periods of operation
where no indications are displayed and, when in operation,
displays both steady and flashing traffic control signal
indications.
(MMM) "Highway traffic signal" means a power-operated traffic
control device by which traffic is warned or directed to take some
specific action. "Highway traffic signal" does not include a
power-operated sign, steadily illuminated pavement marker, warning
light, or steady burning electric lamp.
(NNN) "Median" means the area between two roadways of a
divided highway, measured from edge of traveled way to edge of
traveled way, but excluding turn lanes. The width of a median may
be different between intersections, between interchanges, and at
opposite approaches of the same intersection.
(OOO) "Private road open to public travel" means a private
toll road or road, including any adjacent sidewalks that generally
run parallel to the road, within a shopping center, airport,
sports arena, or other similar business or recreation facility
that is privately owned but where the public is allowed to travel
without access restrictions. "Private road open to public travel"
includes a gated toll road but does not include a road within a
private gated property where access is restricted at all times, a
parking area, a driving aisle within a parking area, or a private
grade crossing.
(PPP) "Shared-use path" means a bikeway outside the traveled
way and physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic by
an open space or barrier and either within the highway
right-of-way or within an independent alignment. A shared-use path
also may be used by pedestrians, including skaters, joggers, users
of manual and motorized wheelchairs, and other authorized
motorized and non-motorized users.
Sec. 4511.041. Sections 4511.12, 4511.13, 4511.131,
4511.132, 4511.14, 4511.15, 4511.202, 4511.21, 4511.211, 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, 4511.57, 4511.58, 4511.59, 4511.60,
4511.61, 4511.62, 4511.66, 4511.68, 4511.681, and 4511.69 of the
Revised Code do not apply to the driver of an emergency vehicle or
public safety vehicle if the emergency vehicle or public safety
vehicle is responding to an emergency call, is equipped with and
displaying at least one flashing, rotating, or oscillating light
visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of
five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle and if the driver of
the vehicle is giving an audible signal by siren, exhaust whistle,
or bell. This section does not relieve the driver of an emergency
vehicle or public safety vehicle from the duty to drive with due
regard for the safety of all persons and property upon the
highway.
Sec. 4511.09. The department of transportation shall adopt a
manual and specifications for a uniform system of traffic control
devices, including signs denoting names of streets and highways,
for use upon highways any street, highway, bikeway, or private
road open to public travel within this state. Such uniform system
shall correlate with, and so far as possible conform to, the
system approved by the American Association of State Highway
Officials federal highway administration.
Sec. 4511.102. As used in sections 4511.102 to 4511.106 of
the Revised Code:
(A) "Tourist-oriented activity" includes any lawful cultural,
historical, recreational, educational, or commercial activity a
major portion of whose income or visitors are derived during the
normal business season from motorists not residing in the
immediate area of the activity and attendance at which is no less
than two thousand visitors in any consecutive twelve-month period.
(B) "Eligible attraction" means any tourist-oriented activity
that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Is not eligible for inclusion in the business logo sign
program established under section 4511.101 of the Revised Code at
that intersection;
(2) If currently advertised by signs adjacent to a highway on
the interstate system or state system, those signs are consistent
with Chapter 5516. of the Revised Code and the "National Highway
Beautification Act of 1965," 79 Stat. 1028, 23 U.S.C. 131, and the
national standards, criteria, and rules adopted pursuant to that
act;
(3) Is within ten miles of the highway for which signing is
sought under sections 4511.102 to 4511.105 of the Revised Code;
(4) Meets any additional criteria developed by the director
of transportation and adopted by the director as rules in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C) "Interstate system" has the same meaning as in section
5516.01 of the Revised Code.
(D) "Commercial activity" means a farm market, winery, bed
and breakfast, lodging that is not a franchise or part of a
national chain, antiques shop, craft store, or gift store.
Sec. 4511.103. (A) The director of transportation, in
accordance with 23 U.S.C. 109(d) and 315, with the provisions of
the federal manual of uniform traffic control devices relating to
tourist-oriented directional signs and trailblazer markers, and
with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules to carry
out a program for the placement of tourist-oriented directional
signs and trailblazer markers within the rights-of-way of those
portions of rural state highways that are not on the interstate
system. The rules shall prohibit the placement of tourist-oriented
directional signs and trailblazer markers at interchanges on state
system expressways and freeways. The rules shall include, but need
not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The form of the application to participate in the
program. The form shall include such necessary information as the
director requires to ensure that a tourist-oriented activity for
which signing is sought is an eligible attraction.
(2) Provisions for covering or otherwise obscuring signs
during off-seasons for eligible attractions that operate on a
seasonal basis;
(3) A determination as to the circumstances that justify
including on a sign the hours of operation of an eligible
attraction;
(4) Criteria for use of the signs at at-grade intersections
on expressways.
(B) The program established pursuant to division (A) of this
section may be operated, maintained, and marketed either by the
department of transportation or by any private person with whom
the director, in accordance with rules adopted by the director
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, contracts for the
operation, maintenance, and marketing. The rules shall describe
the terms of the contract and shall allow for a reasonable profit
to be made by the successful applicant. In awarding the contract,
the director shall consider the skill, expertise, prior
experience, and other qualifications of each applicant.
(C) All direct and indirect costs of the program shall be
fully paid by the eligible attractions that participate in the
program. The director shall develop a fee schedule for
participation in the program, and shall charge each program
participant the appropriate fee. Direct and indirect costs
include, but are not limited to, the cost of all of the following:
(3) Directional signs, sign blanks, and posts, and the
design, engineering, installation, repair, replacement, and
removal of directional signs and posts;
(4) Program administration.
(D) Money generated from participating businesses in excess
of the direct and indirect costs and any reasonable profit earned
by a person awarded a contract under division (B) of this section
shall be remitted to the department, which shall deposit all such
money into the state treasury to the credit of the highway
operating fund created by section 5735.291 of the Revised Code.
(E) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit
the director from establishing such a program. If the department
operates such a program and does not contract with a private
entity to operate the program, all money collected from
participating businesses shall be deposited into the state
treasury to the credit of the highway operating fund.
Sec. 4511.105. Tourist-oriented directional signs shall
conform to the specifications contained in the federal manual of
uniform traffic control devices.
If more than one eligible attraction requires a sign at the
same location, multiple signs may be combined on the same panel in
accordance with the federal manual of uniform traffic control
devices.
Advance signing may be installed in those situations where
sight distance, intersection vehicle maneuvers, or other vehicle
operating characteristics require advance notice of an eligible
attraction in order to reduce vehicle conflicts and improve
highway safety.
The design, arrangement, size, and location of
tourist-oriented directional signs, including advance signs and
trailblazer markers, authorized under sections 4511.102 to
4511.105 of the Revised Code shall conform to the applicable
specifications contained in the federal manual of uniform traffic
control devices.
Sec. 4511.106. The legislative authority of a local
authority may adopt a resolution establishing a program for the
placement of tourist-oriented directional signs and trailblazer
markers within the rights-of-way of streets and highways under its
jurisdiction. Any program established under this section shall
conform to the rules and specifications contained in the program
established by the director of transportation pursuant to sections
4511.102 to 4511.105 of the Revised Code and the applicable
provisions of the federal manual of uniform traffic control
devices. If a local authority establishes a program under this
section, the local authority may request guidance from the
department of transportation in structuring, implementing, and
administering its program, but the local authority is solely
responsible for the structure and actual implementation and
administration of its program, including, but not limited to, the
evaluation and review of applications to participate in the local
program and the execution of advertising agreements with eligible
attractions.
Sec. 4511.11. (A) Local authorities in their respective
jurisdictions shall place and maintain traffic control devices in
accordance with the department of transportation manual and
specifications for a uniform system of traffic control devices,
adopted under section 4511.09 of the Revised Code, upon highways
under their jurisdiction as are necessary to indicate and to carry
out sections 4511.01 to 4511.76 and 4511.99 of the Revised Code,
local traffic ordinances, or to regulate, warn, or guide traffic.
(B) The director of transportation may require to be removed
any traffic control device that does not conform to the manual and
specifications for a uniform system of traffic control devices on
the extensions of the state highway system within municipal
corporations.
(C) No village shall place or maintain any traffic control
signal upon an extension of the state highway system within the
village without first obtaining the permission of the director.
The director may revoke the permission and may require to be
removed any traffic control signal that has been erected without
the director's permission on an extension of a state highway
within a village, or that, if erected under a permit granted by
the director, does not conform to the state manual and
specifications, or that is not operated in accordance with the
terms of the permit.
(D) All traffic control devices erected on a public road, any
street, or highway, alley, bikeway, or private road open to public
travel shall conform to the state manual and specifications.
(E) No person, firm, or corporation shall sell or offer for
sale to local authorities any traffic control device that does not
conform to the state manual and specifications, except by
permission of the director.
(F) No local authority shall purchase or manufacture any
traffic control device that does not conform to the state manual
and specifications, except by permission of the director.
(G) Whoever violates division (E) of this section is guilty
of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
Sec. 4511.13. Whenever Highway traffic is controlled by
traffic control signals exhibiting different colored lights, or
colored lighted arrows, successively one at a time or in
combination, only the colors green, red, and yellow shall be used,
except signal indications for
special pedestrian signals carrying
words or symbols, and said lights shall indicate and apply to
drivers of vehicles, streetcars, and trackless trolleys, and to
pedestrians as follows shall have the following meanings:
(A) Green Steady green signal indication:
(1)(a) Vehicular traffic, streetcars, and trackless trolleys
facing a circular green signal may indication are permitted to
proceed straight through or turn right or left unless a sign at
such place prohibits either such turn. But vehicular traffic,
streetcars, and trackless trolleys, including vehicles,
streetcars, and trackless trolleys turning right or left, shall
yield the right-of-way to other or make a u-turn movement except
as such movement is modified by a lane-use sign, turn prohibition
sign, lane marking, roadway design, separate turn signal
indication, or other traffic control device. Such vehicular
traffic, including vehicles turning right or left or making a
u-turn movement, shall yield the right-of-way to both of the
following:
(i) Pedestrians lawfully within an associated crosswalk;
(ii) Other vehicles, streetcars, trackless trolleys, and
pedestrians lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent
crosswalk at the time such signal is exhibited.
(b) In addition, vehicular traffic turning left or making a
u-turn movement to the left shall yield the right-of-way to other
vehicles approaching from the opposite direction so closely as to
constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such turning
vehicle is moving across or within the intersection.
(2) Vehicular traffic, streetcars, and trackless trolleys
facing a green arrow signal, shown indication, displayed alone or
in combination with another signal indication, may are permitted
to cautiously enter the intersection only to make the movement
indicated by such arrow, or such other movement as is permitted by
other indications shown displayed at the same time. Such vehicular
traffic, streetcars, and trackless trolleys, including vehicles
turning right or left or making a u-turn movement, shall yield the
right-of-way to pedestrians both of the following:
(a) Pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to
other;
(b) Other traffic lawfully using the intersection.
(3)(a) Unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian-control
pedestrian signal indication, as provided in section 4511.14 of
the Revised Code, pedestrians facing any a circular green signal,
except when the sole green signal is a turn arrow, may indication
are permitted to proceed across the roadway within any marked or
unmarked associated crosswalk. The pedestrian shall yield the
right-of-way to vehicles lawfully within the intersection or so
close as to create an immediate hazard at the time that the green
signal indication is first displayed.
(b) Pedestrians facing a green arrow signal indication,
unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian signal indication or
other traffic control device, shall not cross the roadway.
(B) Steady yellow signal indication:
(1) Vehicular traffic, streetcars, and trackless trolleys
facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal indication
are thereby warned that the related green movement or the related
flashing arrow movement is being terminated or that a steady red
signal indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter when
vehicular traffic, streetcars, and trackless trolleys shall not
enter the intersection. The provisions governing vehicular
operation under the movement being terminated shall continue to
apply while the steady circular yellow signal indication is
displayed.
(2) Vehicular traffic facing a steady yellow arrow signal
indication is thereby warned that the related green arrow movement
or the related flashing arrow movement is being terminated. The
provisions governing vehicular operation under the movement being
terminated shall continue to apply while the steady yellow arrow
signal indication is displayed.
(3) Pedestrians facing a steady circular yellow or yellow
arrow signal indication, unless otherwise directed by a
pedestrian-control pedestrian signal indication as provided in
section 4511.14 of the Revised Code or other traffic control
device, are thereby advised that there is insufficient time to
cross the roadway before a red indication is shown and no
pedestrian shall
then not start to cross the roadway.
(C) Steady red signal indication:
(1)(a) Vehicular traffic, streetcars, and trackless trolleys
facing a steady circular red signal alone indication, unless
entering the intersection to make another movement permitted by
another signal indication, shall stop at a clearly marked stop
line,; but if none there is no stop line, traffic shall stop
before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the
intersection,; or if none there is no crosswalk, then before
entering the intersection; and shall remain standing stopped until
an a signal indication to proceed is shown displayed except as
provided in divisions (C)(1), (2), and (3) of this section.
(b) Except when a traffic control device is in place
prohibiting a turn on red or a steady red arrow signal indication
is displayed, vehicular traffic facing a steady circular red
signal indication is permitted to enter the intersection to turn
right, or to turn left from a one-way street, after stopping. The
right to proceed with the turn shall be subject to the provisions
that are applicable after making a stop at a stop sign.
(2) Unless a sign is in place prohibiting a right turn as
provided in division (C)(5) of this section, vehicular (a)
Vehicular traffic, streetcars, and trackless trolleys facing a
steady red arrow signal may cautiously indication shall not enter
the intersection to make a right turn after stopping as required
by division (C)(1) of this section. Such vehicular traffic,
streetcars, and trackless trolleys shall yield the right-of-way to
pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to other
traffic lawfully using the intersection the movement indicated by
the arrow and, unless entering the intersection to make another
movement permitted by another signal indication, shall stop at a
clearly marked stop line; but if there is no stop line, before
entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection; or if
there is no crosswalk, then before entering the intersection; and
shall remain stopped until a signal indication or other traffic
control device permitting the movement indicated by such red arrow
is displayed.
(b) When a traffic control device is in place permitting a
turn on a steady red arrow signal indication, vehicular traffic
facing a steady red arrow indication is permitted to enter the
intersection to make the movement indicated by the arrow signal
indication, after stopping. The right to proceed with the turn
shall be limited to the direction indicated by the arrow and shall
be subject to the provisions that are applicable after making a
stop at a stop sign.
(3) Unless a sign is in place prohibiting a left turn as
provided in division (C)(5) of this section, vehicular traffic,
streetcars, and trackless trolleys facing a steady red signal on a
one-way street that intersects another one-way street on which
traffic moves to the left may cautiously enter the intersection to
make a left turn into the one-way street after stopping as
required by division (C)(1) of this section, and yielding the
right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk
and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection.
(4) Unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian-control
pedestrian signal indication as provided in section 4511.14 of the
Revised Code or other traffic control device, pedestrians facing a
steady circular red or steady red arrow signal alone indication
shall not enter the roadway.
(5)(4) Local authorities may by ordinance, or the director of
transportation on state highways may, may prohibit a right or a
left turn against a steady red signal at any intersection, which
shall be effective when signs giving notice thereof are posted at
the intersection.
(D) A flashing green signal indication has no meaning and
shall not be used.
(E) Flashing yellow signal indication:
(1)(a) Vehicular traffic, on an approach to an intersection,
facing a flashing circular yellow signal indication, is permitted
to cautiously enter the intersection to proceed straight through
or turn right or left or make a u-turn movement except as such
movement is modified by lane-use signs, turn prohibition signs,
lane markings, roadway design, separate turn signal indications,
or other traffic control devices. Such vehicular traffic,
including vehicles turning right or left or making a u-turn
movement, shall yield the right-of-way to both of the following:
(i) Pedestrians lawfully within an associated sidewalk;
(ii) Other vehicles lawfully within the intersection.
(b) In addition, vehicular traffic turning left or making a
u-turn to the left shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles
approaching from the opposite direction so closely as to
constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such turning
vehicle is moving across or within the intersection.
(2)(a) Vehicular traffic, on an approach to an intersection,
facing a flashing yellow arrow signal indication, displayed alone
or in combination with another signal indication, is permitted to
cautiously enter the intersection only to make the movement
indicated by such arrow, or other such movement as is permitted by
other signal indications displayed at the same time. Such
vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left or
making a u-turn, shall yield the right-of-way to both of the
following:
(i) Pedestrians lawfully within an associated sidewalk;
(ii) Other vehicles lawfully within the intersection.
(b) In addition, vehicular traffic turning left or making a
u-turn to the left shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles
approaching from the opposite direction so closely as to
constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such turning
vehicle is moving across or within the intersection.
(3) Pedestrians facing any flashing yellow signal indication
at an intersection, unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian
signal indication or other traffic control device, are permitted
to proceed across the roadway within any marked or unmarked
associated crosswalk. Pedestrians shall yield the right-of-way to
vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the time that the
flashing yellow signal indication is first displayed.
(4) When a flashing circular yellow signal indication is
displayed as a beacon to supplement another traffic control
device, road users are notified that there is a need to pay
additional attention to the message contained thereon or that the
regulatory or warning requirements of the other traffic control
device, which might not be applicable at all times, are currently
applicable.
(F) Flashing red signal indication:
(1) Vehicular traffic, on an approach to an intersection,
facing a flashing circular red signal indication, shall stop at a
clearly marked stop line; but if there is no stop line, before
entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection; or if
there is no crosswalk, at the point nearest the intersecting
roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the
intersecting roadway before entering the intersection. The right
to proceed shall be subject to the provisions that are applicable
after making a stop at a stop sign.
(2) Pedestrians facing any flashing red signal indication at
an intersection, unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian signal
indication or other traffic control device, are permitted to
proceed across the roadway within any marked or unmarked
associated crosswalk. Pedestrians shall yield the right-of-way to
vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the time that the
flashing red signal indication is first displayed.
(3) When a flashing circular red signal indication is
displayed as a beacon to supplement another traffic control
device, road users are notified that there is a need to pay
additional attention to the message contained thereon or that the
regulatory or warning requirements of the other traffic control
device, which might not be applicable at all times, are currently
applicable. Use of this signal indication shall be limited to
supplementing stop, do not enter, or wrong way signs, and to
applications where compliance with the supplemental traffic
control device requires a stop at a designated point.
(G) In the event an official traffic-control signal is
erected and maintained at a place other than an intersection, the
provisions of this section shall be applicable except as to those
provisions which by their nature can have no application. Any stop
required shall be made at a sign or marking on the pavement
indicating where the stop shall be made, but in the absence of any
such sign or marking the stop shall be made at the signal.
(H) This section does not apply at railroad grade crossings.
Conduct of drivers of vehicles, trackless trolleys, and streetcars
approaching railroad grade crossings shall be governed by sections
4511.61 and 4511.62 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4511.131. When The meanings of lane-use control signals
signal indications are placed over individual lanes of a street or
highway, said signals shall indicate and apply to drivers of
vehicles and trackless trolleys as follows:
(A) A steady downward green arrow:
Vehicular traffic and trackless trolleys may travel A road
user is permitted to drive in any the lane over which a green the
arrow signal indication is shown located.
Vehicular traffic and trackless trolleys are warned A road
user is to prepare to vacate in a safe manner any the lane over
which such the signal indication is shown to avoid occupying that
located because a lane when control change is being made to a
steady red "X" signal is shown indication.
(C) A flashing yellow "X" steady white two-way left-turn
arrow:
Vehicular traffic and trackless trolleys may A road user is
permitted to use with proper caution any a lane over which such
the signal indication is shown for only the purpose of making
located for a left turn, but not for through travel, with the
understanding that common use of the lane by oncoming road users
for left turns also is permitted.
(D) A steady white one-way left-turn arrow:
A road user is permitted to use a lane over which the signal
indication is located for a left turn, without opposing turns in
the same lane, but not for through travel.
Vehicular traffic and trackless trolleys shall A road user is
not enter or travel in any permitted to use the lane over which
such the signal indication is shown located and that this signal
indication shall modify accordingly the meaning of other traffic
controls present.
Sec. 4511.14. Whenever special pedestrian control signals
exhibiting the words "walk" or "don't walk," or the symbol of a
walking person or an upraised palm are in place, such signals
shall indicate the following instructions:
(A) "Walk" or the symbol of a A steady walking person:
Pedestrians signal indication, which symbolizes "walk," means that
a pedestrian facing such the signal may proceed across indication
is permitted to start to cross the roadway in the direction of the
signal and shall be given the right of way by operators of all
indication, possibly in conflict with turning vehicles,
streetcars, and trackless trolleys. The pedestrian shall yield the
right-of-way to vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the
time that the walking person signal indication is first shown.
(B) "Don't walk" or the symbol of an A flashing upraised
palm: No hand signal indication, which symbolizes "don't walk,"
means that a pedestrian shall not start to cross the roadway in
the direction of the signal indication, but that any pedestrian
who has already started to cross on a steady walking person signal
indication shall proceed to the far side of the traveled way of
the street or highway, unless otherwise directed by a traffic
control device to proceed only to the median of a divided highway
or only to some other island or pedestrian refuge area.
(C)A steady upraised hand signal indication means that a
pedestrian shall not enter the roadway in the direction of the
signal indication.
(C)(D) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
invalidate the continued use of pedestrian control signals
utilitizing the word "wait" if those signals were installed prior
to the effective date of this act March 28, 1985.
(E) A flashing walking person signal indication has no
meaning and shall not be used.
Sec. 4511.37. (A) Except as provided in section 4511.13 and
division (B) of this section, no vehicle shall be turned so as to
proceed in the opposite direction upon any curve, or upon the
approach to or near the crest of a grade, if the vehicle cannot be
seen within five hundred feet by the driver of any other vehicle
approaching from either direction.
(B) The driver of an emergency vehicle or public safety
vehicle, when responding to an emergency call, may turn the
vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction. This division
applies only when the emergency vehicle or public safety vehicle
is responding to an emergency call, is equipped with and
displaying at least one flashing, rotating, or oscillating light
visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of
five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle, and when the driver
of the vehicle is giving an audible signal by siren, exhaust
whistle, or bell. This division does not relieve the driver of an
emergency vehicle or public safety vehicle from the duty to drive
with due regard for the safety of all persons and property upon
the highway.
(C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever
violates 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.
Sec. 4511.69. (A) Every vehicle stopped or parked upon a
roadway where there is an adjacent curb shall be stopped or parked
with the right-hand wheels of the vehicle parallel with and not
more than twelve inches from the right-hand curb, unless it is
impossible to approach so close to the curb; in such case the stop
shall be made as close to the curb as possible and only for the
time necessary to discharge and receive passengers or to load or
unload merchandise. Local authorities by ordinance may permit
angle parking on any roadway under their jurisdiction, except that
angle parking shall not be permitted on a state route within a
municipal corporation unless an unoccupied roadway width of not
less than twenty-five feet is available for free-moving traffic.
(B) Local authorities by ordinance may permit parking of
vehicles with the left-hand wheels adjacent to and within twelve
inches of the left-hand curb of a one-way roadway.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section,
no vehicle or trackless trolley shall be stopped or parked on a
road or highway with the vehicle or trackless trolley facing in a
direction other than the direction of travel on that side of the
road or highway.
(2) The operator of a motorcycle may back the motorcycle into
an angled parking space so that when the motorcycle is parked it
is facing in a direction other than the direction of travel on the
side of the road or highway.
(D) Notwithstanding any statute or any rule, resolution, or
ordinance adopted by any local authority, air compressors,
tractors, trucks, and other equipment, while being used in the
construction, reconstruction, installation, repair, or removal of
facilities near, on, over, or under a street or highway, may stop,
stand, or park where necessary in order to perform such work,
provided a flagperson is on duty or warning signs or lights are
displayed as may be prescribed by the director of transportation.
(E) Special parking locations and privileges for persons with
disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk, also known
as handicapped parking spaces or disability parking spaces, shall
be provided and designated by all political subdivisions and by
the state and all agencies and instrumentalities thereof at all
offices and facilities, where parking is provided, whether owned,
rented, or leased, and at all publicly owned parking garages. The
locations shall be designated through the posting of an elevated
sign, whether permanently affixed or movable, imprinted with the
international symbol of access and shall be reasonably close to
exits, entrances, elevators, and ramps. All elevated signs posted
in accordance with this division and division (C) of section
3781.111 of the Revised Code shall be mounted on a fixed or
movable post, and the distance from the ground to the top bottom
edge of the sign shall measure not less than five feet. If a new
sign or a replacement sign designating a special parking location
is posted on or after October 14, 1999, there also shall be
affixed upon the surface of that sign or affixed next to the
designating sign a notice that states the fine applicable for the
offense of parking a motor vehicle in the special designated
parking location if the motor vehicle is not legally entitled to
be parked in that location.
(F)(1) No person shall stop, stand, or park any motor vehicle
at special parking locations provided under division (E) of this
section or at special clearly marked parking locations provided in
or on privately owned parking lots, parking garages, or other
parking areas and designated in accordance with that division,
unless one of the following applies:
(a) The motor vehicle is being operated by or for the
transport of a person with a disability that limits or impairs the
ability to walk and is displaying a valid removable windshield
placard or special license plates;
(b) The motor vehicle is being operated by or for the
transport of a handicapped person and is displaying a parking card
or special handicapped license plates.
(2) Any motor vehicle that is parked in a special marked
parking location in violation of division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this
section may be towed or otherwise removed from the parking
location by the law enforcement agency of the political
subdivision in which the parking location is located. A motor
vehicle that is so towed or removed shall not be released to its
owner until the owner presents proof of ownership of the motor
vehicle and pays all towing and storage fees normally imposed by
that political subdivision for towing and storing motor vehicles.
If the motor vehicle is a leased vehicle, it shall not be released
to the lessee until the lessee presents proof that that person is
the lessee of the motor vehicle and pays all towing and storage
fees normally imposed by that political subdivision for towing and
storing motor vehicles.
(3) If a person is charged with a violation of division
(F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, it is an affirmative defense to
the charge that the person suffered an injury not more than
seventy-two hours prior to the time the person was issued the
ticket or citation and that, because of the injury, the person
meets at least one of the criteria contained in division (A)(1) of
section 4503.44 of the Revised Code.
(G) When a motor vehicle is being operated by or for the
transport of a person with a disability that limits or impairs the
ability to walk and is displaying a removable windshield placard
or a temporary removable windshield placard or special license
plates, or when a motor vehicle is being operated by or for the
transport of a handicapped person and is displaying a parking card
or special handicapped license plates, the motor vehicle is
permitted to park for a period of two hours in excess of the legal
parking period permitted by local authorities, except where local
ordinances or police rules provide otherwise or where the vehicle
is parked in such a manner as to be clearly a traffic hazard.
(H) No owner of an office, facility, or parking garage where
special parking locations are required to be designated in
accordance with division (E) of this section shall fail to
properly mark the special parking locations in accordance with
that division or fail to maintain the markings of the special
locations, including the erection and maintenance of the fixed or
movable signs.
(I) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a
person or organization to apply for a removable windshield placard
or special license plates if the parking card or special license
plates issued to the person or organization under prior law have
not expired or been surrendered or revoked.
(J)(1) Whoever violates division (A) or (C) of this section
is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(2)(a) Whoever violates division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this
section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as
provided in division (J)(2)(a) and (b) of this section. Except as
otherwise provided in division (J)(2)(a) of this section, an
offender who violates division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section
shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty nor more than five
hundred dollars. An offender who violates division (F)(1)(a) or
(b) of this section shall be fined not more than one hundred
dollars if the offender, prior to sentencing, proves either of the
following to the satisfaction of the court:
(i) At the time of the violation of division (F)(1)(a) of
this section, the offender or the person for whose transport the
motor vehicle was being operated had been issued a removable
windshield placard that then was valid or special license plates
that then were valid but the offender or the person neglected to
display the placard or license plates as described in division
(F)(1)(a) of this section.
(ii) At the time of the violation of division (F)(1)(b) of
this section, the offender or the person for whose transport the
motor vehicle was being operated had been issued a parking card
that then was valid or special handicapped license plates that
then were valid but the offender or the person neglected to
display the card or license plates as described in division
(F)(1)(b) of this section.
(b) In no case shall an offender who violates division
(F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section be sentenced to any term of
imprisonment.
An arrest or conviction for a violation of division (F)(1)(a)
or (b) of this section does not constitute a criminal record and
need not be reported by the person so arrested or convicted in
response to any inquiries contained in any application for
employment, license, or other right or privilege, or made in
connection with the person's appearance as a witness.
The clerk of the court shall pay every fine collected under
division (J)(2) of this section to the political subdivision in
which the violation occurred. Except as provided in division
(J)(2) of this section, the political subdivision shall use the
fine moneys it receives under division (J)(2) of this section to
pay the expenses it incurs in complying with the signage and
notice requirements contained in division (E) of this section. The
political subdivision may use up to fifty per cent of each fine it
receives under division (J)(2) of this section to pay the costs of
educational, advocacy, support, and assistive technology programs
for persons with disabilities, and for public improvements within
the political subdivision that benefit or assist persons with
disabilities, if governmental agencies or nonprofit organizations
offer the programs.
(3) Whoever violates division (H) of this section shall be
punished as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (J)(3) of this
section, the offender shall be issued a warning.
(b) If the offender previously has been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to a violation of division (H) of this section or
of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to that
division, the offender shall not be issued a warning but shall be
fined not more than twenty-five dollars for each parking location
that is not properly marked or whose markings are not properly
maintained.
(K) As used in this section:
(1) "Handicapped person" means any person who has lost the
use of one or both legs or one or both arms, who is blind, deaf,
or so severely handicapped as to be unable to move without the aid
of crutches or a wheelchair, or whose mobility is restricted by a
permanent cardiovascular, pulmonary, or other handicapping
condition.
(2) "Person with a disability that limits or impairs the
ability to walk" has the same meaning as in section 4503.44 of the
Revised Code.
(3) "Special license plates" and "removable windshield
placard" mean any license plates or removable windshield placard
or temporary removable windshield placard issued under section
4503.41 or 4503.44 of the Revised Code, and also mean any
substantially similar license plates or removable windshield
placard or temporary removable windshield placard issued by a
state, district, country, or sovereignty.
Sec. 4955.33. At all points where its railroad crosses a
public road at a common grade, each company shall erect crossbuck
signing at positions at each such crossing that are in accordance
with the department of transportation manual for uniform traffic
control devices, adopted under section 4511.09 of the Revised
Code, to give notice of the proximity of the railroad and warn
persons to be on the lookout for the locomotive. Any such signing
that has been or is erected in accordance with this section may
lawfully be continued in use until it is replaced. A company that
neglects or refuses to comply with this section is liable in
damages for all injuries that occur to persons or property from
such neglect or refusal.
Each crossbuck sign also shall be accompanied by an
additional sign consisting of three panels, with the middle panel
bearing the word "yield" spelled vertically. The front and rear
faces of the crossbuck sign and of the three panels of the
additional sign shall be coated or treated with a reflective
material, and if the crossbuck sign and additional sign are
mounted on a vertical girder or post, the girder or post also
shall be coated or treated with a reflective material. The
director, after consultation with those persons knowledgeable in
the area of railroad-highway grade crossing safety as he may
select, shall determine specifications for the crossbuck sign,
additional sign, girder, or post, and for the reflectiveness of
the reflective material described in this section.
The director of transportation may erect experimental signs
at certain crossings in lieu of the above required signing, for
the purpose of conducting research for the development of better
signing systems. The erection of such a sign by the director at a
particular crossing relieves the railroad company from any
liability in damages that might otherwise arise under this section
at the crossing.
With the prior approval of the director, a railroad company
or local authority may erect experimental signs and warning
devices at a crossing in lieu of the above required signing, for
the purpose of conducting research for the development of better
warning signing systems and devices. Such signs and warning
devices may be erected on either an interim or permanent basis, as
determined by the director, and the erection in accordance with
this section of such signs and warning devices at a particular
crossing relieves the railroad company or local authority from any
liability in damages that might otherwise arise under this section
at the crossing.
Section 2. That existing sections 3781.111, 4510.31,
4511.01, 4511.041, 4511.09, 4511.102, 4511.103, 4511.105,
4511.106, 4511.11, 4511.13, 4511.131, 4511.14, 4511.37, 4511.69,
and 4955.33 and section 4511.15 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
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