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(a) The chief of a law enforcement agency of the municipal corporation, within the chief’s respective territorial jurisdiction, or a state highway patrol trooper, upon notification to the chief of such action and of the location of the place of storage, may order into storage any motor vehicle, including an abandoned junk motor vehicle as defined in Ohio R.C. 4513.63, that:
(1) Has come into the possession of the chief, or state highway patrol trooper as a result of the performance of the chief’s or trooper’s duties; or
(2) Has been left on a public street or other property open to the public for purposes of vehicular travel, or upon or within the right-of-way of any road or highway, for forty-eight hours or longer without notification to the chief of the reasons for leaving the motor vehicle in such place. However, when such a motor vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic it may be ordered into storage immediately unless either of the following applies:
A. The vehicle was involved in an accident and is subject to Ohio R.C. 4513.66, or any substantially equivalent municipal ordinance;
B. The vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle. If the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle, the chief, or state highway patrol trooper shall allow the owner or operator of the vehicle the opportunity to arrange for the removal of the motor vehicle within a period of time specified by the chief, or state highway patrol trooper. If the chief, or state highway patrol trooper determines that the vehicle cannot be removed within the specified period of time, the chief, or state highway patrol trooper shall order the removal of the vehicle.
(3) Subject to subsection (c) of this section, the chief shall designate the place of storage of any motor vehicle so ordered removed.
(b) If the chief, or a state highway patrol trooper issues an order under subsection (a) of this section and arranges for the removal of a motor vehicle by a towing service, the towing service shall deliver the motor vehicle to the location designated by the chief not more than two hours after the time it is removed.
(c) (1) The chief shall cause a search to be made of the records of an applicable entity listed in Ohio R.C. 4513.601(F)(1) to ascertain the identity of the owner and any lienholder of a motor vehicle ordered into storage by the chief, or by a state highway patrol trooper within five business days of the removal of the vehicle. Upon obtaining such identity, the chief shall send or cause to be sent to the owner or lienholder at the owner’s or lienholder’s last known address by certified or express mail with return receipt requested, by certified mail with electronic tracking, or by a commercial carrier service utilizing any form of delivery requiring a signed receipt. The notice shall inform the owner or lienholder that the motor vehicle will be declared a nuisance and disposed of if not claimed within ten days of the date of the sending of the notice.
(2) A. The owner or lienholder of the motor vehicle is responsible for payment of any expenses or charges incurred in its removal and storage and may reclaim the motor vehicle upon payment of those expenses or charges, and presentation of proof of ownership, which may be evidenced by a certificate of title or memorandum certificate of title to the motor vehicle, a certificate of registration for the motor vehicle, or a lease agreement. Upon presentation of proof of ownership evidenced as provided above, the owner of the motor vehicle also may retrieve any personal items from the vehicle without retrieving the vehicle and without paying any fee. However, a towing service or storage facility may charge an after-hours retrieval fee established by the Public Utilities Commission in rules adopted under Ohio R.C. 4921.25 if the owner retrieves the personal items after hours, unless the towing service or storage facility fails to provide the notice required under Ohio R.C. 4513.69(B)(3), if applicable. However, the owner shall not do either of the following:
1. Retrieve any personal item that has been determined by the chief, or a state highway patrol trooper, as applicable, to be necessary to a criminal investigation;
2. Retrieve any personal item from a vehicle if it would endanger the safety of the owner, unless the owner agrees to sign a waiver of liability.
B. For purposes of subsection (c)(2) of this section, “personal items” do not include any items that are attached to the vehicle.
(3) If the owner or lienholder of the motor vehicle reclaims it after a search of the applicable records has been conducted and after notice has been sent to the owner and any lienholder as described in this section, and the search was conducted by the place of storage, and the notice was sent to the motor vehicle owner by the place of storage, the owner or lienholder shall pay to the place of storage a processing fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00), in addition to any expenses or charges incurred in the removal and storage of the vehicle.
(d) If the owner or lienholder makes no claim to the motor vehicle within ten days of the date of sending the notice, and if the vehicle is to be disposed of at a public auction as provided in Ohio R.C. 4513.62 or any substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, the chief, without charge to any party, shall file with the Clerk of Courts of the county in which the place of storage is located an affidavit showing compliance with the requirements of this section. Upon presentation of the affidavit, the Clerk, without charge, shall issue a salvage certificate of title, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, to the chief. If the vehicle is to be disposed of to a motor vehicle salvage dealer or other facility as provided in Ohio R.C. 4513.62 or any substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, the chief shall execute in triplicate an affidavit, as prescribed by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, describing the motor vehicle and the manner in which it was disposed of, and that all requirements of this section have been complied with. The chief shall retain the original of the affidavit for the chief’s records, and shall furnish two copies to the motor vehicle salvage dealer or other facility. Upon presentation of a copy of the affidavit by the motor vehicle salvage dealer, the Clerk of Courts, within thirty days of the presentation, shall issue a salvage certificate of title, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances.
(e) Whenever a motor vehicle salvage dealer or other facility receives an affidavit for the disposal of a motor vehicle as provided in this section, the dealer or facility shall not be required to obtain an Ohio certificate of title to the motor vehicle in the dealer’s or facility’s own name if the vehicle is dismantled or destroyed and both copies of the affidavit are delivered to the Clerk of Courts.
(f) No towing service or storage facility shall fail to comply with this section.
(ORC 4513.61)
(a) No person shall willfully leave any vehicle or an "abandoned junk motor vehicle" as defined in Ohio R.C. 4513.63 on private property for more than seventy-two hours without the permission of the person having the right to the possession of the property or on a public street or other property open to the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking, or upon or within the right of way of any road or highway, for forty-eight hours or longer, without notification to the chief of the law enforcement agency of the municipal corporation of the reason for leaving the motor vehicle in such place.
For purposes of this section, the fact that a vehicle has been so left without permission or notification is prima-facie evidence of abandonment. Nothing contained in this section shall invalidate the provisions of other ordinances regulating or prohibiting the abandonment of motor vehicles on streets, highways, public property or private property within the Municipality.
(b) Whoever violates any provision of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor on a first offense; on a second offense within one year after the first offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree; on each subsequent offense within one year after the first offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(a) Definitions. The following terms have the following meanings:
“Junk vehicle” or “junk motor vehicle” means any vehicle or motor vehicle including, but not by way of limitation, automobile, car, truck, construction equipment, recreational vehicle, trailers and/or any part(s) thereof, which is or are:
(1) Extensively damaged, such damage includes, but is not limited to, missing wheels, tires, engine, engine components, transmission, structural damage, extensive or significant nonstructural exterior/interior damage; and/or
(2) Inoperable or operable in an unsafe condition as evidenced by, but not by way of limitation, no valid vehicle or motor vehicle license plate or similar identifying device issued by the County of Ashtabula or State of Ohio; flat tires; missing engine or engine components; any other condition which would result in the vehicle or motor vehicle being in violation or Ohio R.C. 4513.02 regarding safe vehicles.
(b) Prohibitions.
(1) No person, corporation or legal entity owning, leasing, residing in, or at, or otherwise having possession or control of real property within the corporate limits of Ashtabula, or owner of any junk vehicle, motor vehicle, improperly licensed vehicle/motor vehicle or component thereof, shall allow a junk vehicle or motor vehicle, or any part thereof, to remain in the open and public view on such real property.
(2) No person, corporation, or legal entity owning, leasing, residing in or at, or otherwise having possession or control of real property that is a bona fide component of a bona fide commercial operation within the corporate limits of Ashtabula, shall allow a junk vehicle or motor vehicle, or any part thereof, that is a bona fide component or part of said bona fide commercial enterprise, to remain in the open and public view on such real property for more than thirty consecutive days.
(c) Investigation by the City. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee shall, upon completion of an investigation, which shall include the taking of photographs depicting the junk or improperly/unlicensed vehicle or motor vehicle, determine whether or not subsection (b) hereof has been violated. In the event there is probable cause to believe a violation of subsection (b) hereof has occurred, the City Manager or his designee may issue a summons and citation to the responsible person(s), corporation(s) or legal entity or entities responsible for the purpose of initiating, in the Municipal Court, the appropriate misdemeanor judicial procedure regarding the same.
(d) Removal by the City. In addition to the procedure provided for in subsection (c) hereof, the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee may, after determining probable cause exists to believe a violation of subsection (b) hereof has occurred, initiate the following procedure against the person, corporation or legal entity owning the subject vehicle, motor vehicle or component(s) thereof or against the person, corporation or legal entity owning, leasing, residing in or at, or otherwise having possession or control of the real property upon which the same is/are located to insure the junk vehicle, motor vehicle, improperly licensed vehicle/motor vehicle, or any components thereof are properly removed:
(1) A “Notice of Violation” shall be provided to such person, corporation or legal entity advising said person, corporation or legal entity of the violation of the within section. The “Notice of Violation” shall advise such person, corporation or legal entity that he, she or it is in violation of the within section. In addition, the “Notice of Violation” shall contain language instructing the responsible person, corporation or legal entity that the junk vehicle, motor vehicle, improperly licensed vehicle/motor vehicle or any component thereof must, within seventy-two hours of the “Notice of Violation” being delivered, be removed from the real property at or upon which it is located to another legal location. The “Notice of Violation” may be delivered to such person, corporation or legal entity by U.S. certified mail, return receipt requested or by residential service or by personal service. In the event the delivery of the “Notice of Violation” sent via U.S. certified mail service is returned and marked either “refusal” or “unclaimed” or is otherwise not received by the person, corporation or legal entity to whom or which it was sent, service of the “Notice of Violation” may be accomplished via First Class ordinary U.S. mail, postage prepaid. In that event a Certificate of Mailing shall be secured by the City for the purpose of showing successful service.
(2) In the event the name and/or mailing address of the person, corporation or legal entity of the subject real property is unknown or unavailable, delivery of the within “Notice of Violation” will be satisfied through the publication of the same once in a newspaper of general circulation within the County.
(3) In the event the subject junk vehicle, motor vehicle, improperly licensed vehicle/motor vehicle or any component thereof is not properly removed from the real property within seventy-two hours of the “Notice of Violation” being delivered, the City may, through the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee, cause the same to be removed and properly “scrapped” or discarded with all costs relating thereto being assessed against the responsible person, corporation or legal entity.
(e) Right of Entry. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee, including any contracting agent or agency of the City or an employee of said contracting agency, or any agency, or any other person, corporation, or legal entity retained or designated by the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee, is hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property for the purpose of reinforcing the provisions of this section. No person shall interfere, hinder or refuse to allow the aforementioned individuals or agencies to enter upon private property for the purposes prescribed in this section. Any person, corporation or legal entity to whom notice was delivered pursuant to subsection (d) hereof, shall have the right to remove any vehicle, motor vehicle or component thereof in accordance with such “Notice of Removal”, at his or her own expense, at any time prior to the arrival of any of the aforementioned individuals or agencies.
(f) Fee/Charge from any Individual or Corporate Towing Company and Storage/Impound Facility. Any fees or charges assessed or incurred by the enforcement of this section shall be assessed against and incurred by the owner of such vehicles, motor vehicles and/or parts/components thereof; or person, corporation or legal entity in lawful possession or control of the private property upon which such vehicles, motor vehicles and/or components thereof are located.
(g) Penalty. Whoever violates subsection (b) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each day subsection (b) hereof is violated shall be considered a separate offense. Each separate vehicle, motor vehicle and/or part/component thereof found to be located in violation of subsection (b) hereof shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ord. 2006-82. Passed 6-19-06.)
(a) No person shall knowingly present, display or orally communicate a false name, social security number or date of birth to a law enforcement officer who is in the process of issuing to the person a traffic ticket or complaint.
(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(ORC 4513.361)
(a) General Misdemeanor Classifications. Whoever violates any provision of this Traffic Code for which violation no penalty is otherwise provided, is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(ORC 4513.99)
(b) Penalties. Whoever is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this Traffic Code shall be imprisoned for a definite term or fined, or both, which term of imprisonment and fine shall be fixed by the court as provided in this section.
Classification of Misdemeanor | Maximum Term of Imprisonment | Maximum Fine |
First degree | 180 days | $1,000.00 |
Second degree | 90 days | 750.00 |
Third degree | 60 days | 500.00 |
Fourth degree | 30 days | 250.00 |
Minor | No imprisonment | 150.00 |
(ORC 2929.24; 2929.28)
(a) As used in this section and each section of the Traffic Code where specified, all of the following apply:
(1) “Distracted” means doing either of the following while operating a vehicle:
A. Using an electronic wireless communications device, as defined in Ohio R.C. 4511.204, in violation of that section.
B. Engaging in any activity that is not necessary to the operation of a vehicle and impairs, or reasonably would be expected to impair, the ability of the operator to drive the vehicle safely.
(2) “Distracted” does not include operating a motor vehicle while wearing an earphone or earplug over or in both ears at the same time. A person who so wears earphones or earplugs may be charged with a violation of Section 331.43.
(3) “Distracted” does not include conducting any activity while operating a utility service vehicle or a vehicle for or on behalf of a utility, provided that the driver of the vehicle is acting in response to an emergency, power outage or a circumstance affecting the health or safety of individuals.
As used in subsection (a)(3) of this section:
A. “Utility” means an entity specified in division (A), (C), (D), (E) or (G) of Ohio R.C. 4905.03.
B. “Utility service vehicle” means a vehicle owned or operated by a utility.
(b) If an offender violates any section of this Traffic Code which provides for an enhanced penalty for an offense committed while distracted and the distracting activity is a contributing factor to the commission of the violation, the offender is subject to the applicable penalty for the violation and, notwithstanding Ohio R.C. 2929.28, is subject to an additional fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) as follows:
(1) Subject to Traffic Rule 13, if a law enforcement officer issues an offender a ticket, citation or summons for a violation of any section of the Traffic Code that indicates that the offender was distracted while committing the violation and that the distracting activity was a contributing factor to the commission of the violation, the offender may enter a written plea of guilty and waive the offender’s right to contest the ticket, citation or summons in a trial provided that the offender pays the total amount of the fine established for the violation and pays the additional fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
In lieu of payment of the additional fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00), the offender instead may elect to attend a distracted driving safety course, the duration and contents of which shall be established by the Ohio Director of Public Safety. If the offender attends and successfully completes the course, the offender shall be issued written evidence that the offender successfully completed the course. The offender shall be required to pay the total amount of the fine established for the violation, but shall not be required to pay the additional fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00), so long as the offender submits to the court both the offender’s payment in full and such written evidence within ninety days of the underlying violation that resulted in the imposition of the additional fine under this section.
(2) If the offender appears in person to contest the ticket, citation or summons in a trial and the offender pleads guilty to or is convicted of the violation, the court, in addition to all other penalties provided by law, may impose the applicable penalty for the violation and may impose the additional fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
If the court imposes upon the offender the applicable penalty for the violation and an additional fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), the court shall inform the offender that, in lieu of payment of the additional fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), the offender instead may elect to attend the distracted driving safety course described in subsection (b)(1) of this section. If the offender elects the course option and attends and successfully completes the course, the offender shall be issued written evidence that the offender successfully completed the course. The offender shall be required to pay the total amount of the fine established for the violation, but shall not be required to pay the additional fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), so long as the offender submits to the court the offender’s payment and such written evidence within ninety days of the underlying violation that resulted in the imposition of the additional fine under this section.
(c) If a law enforcement officer issues an offender a ticket, citation, or summons for a violation of subsection (b) of this section that indicates that the offender was distracted while committing the violation and that the distracting activity was a contributing factor to the commission of the violation, the officer shall do both of the following:
(1) Report the issuance of the ticket, citation, or summons to the officer’s law enforcement agency;
(2) Ensure that such report indicates the offender’s race.
(ORC 4511.991)
CITY OF ASHTABULA