Ohio Code 4511.24 – Speed limits not applicable to emergency or public safety vehicles
The prima-facie speed limitations set forth in section 4511.21 of the Revised Code do not apply to emergency vehicles or public safety vehicles when they are responding to emergency calls and are 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 drivers thereof sound audible signals by bell, siren, or exhaust whistle. 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 using the street or highway.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4511.24
- 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- 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
- 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