(A) When the failure of a motor vehicle operator to yield the right-of-way to a public safety vehicle as required by division (A) of section 4511.45 of the Revised Code impedes the ability of the public safety vehicle to respond to an emergency, any emergency personnel in the public safety vehicle may report the license plate number and a general description of the vehicle and the operator of the vehicle to the law enforcement agency exercising jurisdiction over the area where the alleged violation occurred.

Attorney's Note

Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Minor misdemeanorup to $150
For details, see Ohio Code § 2929.24(A)

Terms Used In Ohio Code 4511.454

  • Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • 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, electric 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01
  • Person: means every natural person, firm, co-partnership, association, or corporation. See Ohio Code 4511.01
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01

  • 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01

  • state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, trackless trolleys, and other devices, either singly or together, while using for purposes of travel any highway or private road open to public travel. See Ohio Code 4511.01
  • Vehicle: means every device, including a motorized bicycle and an electric 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 low-speed micromobility device, any personal delivery device as defined in section 4511. See Ohio Code 4511.01
  • Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02

(B)(1) Upon receipt of a report under division (A) of this section, the law enforcement agency may conduct an investigation to attempt to determine or confirm the identity of the operator of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation.

(2) If the identity of the operator at the time of an alleged violation of division (A) of section 4511.45 of the Revised Code is established, the law enforcement agency has probable cause to issue either a written warning or a citation for that violation, and the agency shall issue a written warning or a citation to the operator.

(3) If the identity of the operator of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation cannot be established, the law enforcement agency may issue a written warning to the person who owned the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation. However, in the case of a leased or rented vehicle, the law enforcement agency shall issue the written warning to the person who leased or rented the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation.

(C)(1) Whoever violates division (A) of section 4511.45 of the Revised Code based on a report filed under division (A) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor and shall be fined one hundred fifty dollars.

(2) If a person who is issued a citation for a violation of division (A) of section 4511.45 of the Revised Code based on a report filed under division (A) of this section does not enter a written plea of guilty and does not waive the person’s right to contest the citation but instead appears in person in the proper court to answer the charge, the trier of fact cannot find beyond a reasonable doubt that the person committed that violation unless the emergency personnel who filed the report appears in person in the court and testifies.

(D) As used in this section:

(1) “License plate” includes any temporary motor vehicle license registration issued under section 4503.182 of the Revised Code or similar law of another jurisdiction.

(2) “Public safety vehicle” does not include an unmarked public safety vehicle or a vehicle used by a public law enforcement officer or other person sworn to enforce the criminal and traffic laws of the state or a vehicle used by the motor carrier enforcement unit for the enforcement of orders and rules of the public utilities commission.

Last updated April 14, 2021 at 7:30 AM