Ohio Code 4511.031 – Portable preemption signal devices prohibited
(A)(1) No person shall possess a portable signal preemption device.
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Misdemeanor of the first degree | up to 180 days | up to $1,000 |
| Misdemeanor of the fourth degree | up to 30 days | up to $250 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4511.031
- 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
- Person: means every natural person, firm, co-partnership, association, or corporation. 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
- Traffic control signal: means any highway traffic signal by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and permitted to proceed. 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
(2) No person shall use a portable signal preemption device to affect the operation of the traffic control signal.
(B) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to any of the following persons and division (A)(2) of this section does not apply to any of the following persons when responding to an emergency call:
(1) A peace officer, as defined in division (A)(1), (12), (14), or (19) of section 109.71 of the Revised Code;
(2) A state highway patrol trooper;
(3) A person while occupying a public safety vehicle as defined in division (E)(1), (3), or (4) of section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(C) Whoever violates division (A)(1) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. Whoever violates division (A)(2) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(D) As used in this section, “portable signal preemption device” means a device that, if activated by a person, is capable of changing a traffic control signal to green out of sequence.