Ohio Code 4511.51 – Hitchhiking – soliciting employment, business, or contributions from occupant of vehicle
(A) No person while on a roadway outside a safety zone shall solicit a ride from the driver of any vehicle.
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 third degree | up to 60 days | up to $500 |
| Misdemeanor of the fourth degree | up to 30 days | up to $250 |
| Minor misdemeanor | up to $150 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4511.51
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Freeway: means a divided multi-lane highway for through traffic with all crossroads separated in grade and with full control of access. 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
- 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
- Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, except the berm or shoulder. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- Streetcar: means a car, other than a railroad train, for transporting persons or property, operated upon rails principally within a street or highway. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- Trackless trolley: means every car that collects its power from overhead electric trolley wires and that is not operated upon rails or tracks. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- 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
- 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. See Ohio Code 4511.01
- Truck: means every motor vehicle, except trailers and semitrailers, designed and used to carry property. 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) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, no person shall stand on a highway for the purpose of soliciting employment, business, or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle.
(2) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation, by ordinance, may authorize the issuance of a permit to a charitable organization to allow a person acting on behalf of the organization to solicit charitable contributions from the occupant of a vehicle by standing on a highway, other than a freeway as provided in division (A)(1) of section 4511.051 of the Revised Code, that is under the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation. The permit shall be valid for only one period of time, which shall be specified in the permit, in any calendar year. The legislative authority also may specify the locations where contributions may be solicited and may impose any other restrictions on or requirements regarding the manner in which the solicitations are to be conducted that the legislative authority considers advisable.
(3) As used in division (B)(2) of this section, “charitable organization” means an organization that has received from the internal revenue service a currently valid ruling or determination letter recognizing the tax-exempt status of the organization pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the “Internal Revenue Code.”
(C) No person shall hang onto or ride on the outside of any motor vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley while it is moving upon a roadway, except mechanics or test engineers making repairs or adjustments, or workers performing specialized highway or street maintenance or construction under authority of a public agency.
(D) No operator shall knowingly permit any person to hang onto, or ride on the outside of, any motor vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley while it is moving upon a roadway, except mechanics or test engineers making repairs or adjustments, or workers performing specialized highway or street maintenance or construction under authority of a public agency.
(E) No driver of a truck, trailer, or semitrailer shall knowingly permit any person who has not attained the age of sixteen years to ride in the unenclosed or unroofed cargo storage area of the driver’s vehicle if the vehicle is traveling faster than twenty-five miles per hour, unless either of the following applies:
(1) The cargo storage area of the vehicle is equipped with a properly secured seat to which is attached a seat safety belt that is in compliance with federal standards for an occupant restraining device as defined in division (A)(2) of section 4513.263 of the Revised Code, the seat and seat safety belt were installed at the time the vehicle was originally assembled, and the person riding in the cargo storage area is in the seat and is wearing the seat safety belt;
(2) An emergency exists that threatens the life of the driver or the person being transported in the cargo storage area of the truck, trailer, or semitrailer.
(F) No driver of a truck, trailer, or semitrailer shall permit any person, except for those workers performing specialized highway or street maintenance or construction under authority of a public agency, to ride in the cargo storage area or on a tailgate of the driver’s vehicle while the tailgate is unlatched.
(G)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates any provision of divisions (A) to (D) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If, within one year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one predicate motor vehicle or traffic offense, whoever violates any provision of divisions (A) to (D) of 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 any provision of divisions (A) to (D) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(2) Whoever violates division (E) or (F) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.