Last year the State of Ohio General Assembly passed legislation which changed many of our existing traffic laws. These changes, SB 123 , SB 163, and HB 490, took effect on January 1st of this year.

One of the changes involved creating a new chapter to the Ohio Revised Code (O.R.C.), consolidating portions of other chapters and placing. them into the new chapter. This new chapter is O.R.C. Chapter 4510.

"Special" Yellow and Red License Plates Mandatory for All O.V.I. Driving Offenses

Aside from the change of location and title, many of the traffic laws have under gone somewhat significant changes. The most noticeable of these changes is the issuance of Special License Plates. These plates are yellow with red print. These Special License Plates are not new. They have been around for many years and were at the discretion of the courts as to whether or not to be required.

Now, due to SB 123, SB 163, and HB 490, the courts are required to impose these Special License Plates for all O.V.I. (formerly O.M.V.I./D.U.I.) violations as well as most Driving Under Suspension violations.

The new law also altered many other traffic violations. While the definitions of the offense were not changed, the penalties were. Some penalties were lessened while others were increased.

"Speeding" Penalties Increased

One example is a violation of the Speed Limit. In the past, any other moving violation sited to a driver would make a Speed violation go to the next penalty level, i.e. your 3rd moving violation would become a 4th Degree Misdemeanor instead of a Minor Misdemeanor. This is known as enhancing an offense.

With the new law, offenses such as Speeding can only be "enhanced" by previous Speeding convictions. However, it now takes fewer Speeding convictions to be "enhanced" from a Minor Misdemeanor to a 4th Degree Misdemeanor.

Other changes to the O.R.C. have been made due to this legislation. Many of these are even now getting ready to be changed again. Loopholes and slight oversights have, in some cases, created more questions than answers; for both citizens and law enforcement alike.