432.30 STOPPING FOR SCHOOL BUS; ACTUATING VISUAL SIGNALS; DISCHARGING CHILDREN.

   (a)   The driver of a vehicle upon meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any school child, person attending programs offered by community boards of mental health and County boards of developmental disabilities, or child attending a program offered by a head start agency, shall stop at least ten feet from the front or rear of the school bus and shall not proceed until such school bus resumes motion, or until signaled by the school bus driver to proceed.

   It is no defense to a charge under this subsection (a) hereof that the school bus involved failed to display or be equipped with an automatically extended stop warning sign as required by subsection (b) hereof.

   (b)   Every school bus shall be equipped with amber and red visual signals meeting the requirements of Ohio R.C. 4511.771, and an automatically extended stop warning sign of a type approved by the State Board of Education, which shall be actuated by the driver of the bus whenever but only whenever the bus is stopped or stopping on the roadway for the purpose of receiving or discharging school children, persons attending programs offered by community boards of mental health and County boards of developmental disabilities, or children attending programs offered by head start agencies.  A school bus driver shall not actuate the visual signals or the stop warning sign in designated school bus loading areas where the bus is entirely off the roadway or at school buildings when children or persons attending programs offered by community boards of mental health and County boards of developmental disabilities are loading or unloading at curbside or at buildings when children attending programs offered by head start agencies are boarding or unloading at curbside.  The visual signals and stop warning sign shall be synchronized or otherwise operated as required by rule of the Board.

   (c)   Where a highway has been divided into four or more traffic lanes, a driver of a vehicle need not stop for a school bus approaching from the opposite direction which has stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any school child, persons attending programs offered by community boards of mental health and County boards of developmental disabilities, or children attending programs offered by head start agencies.  The driver of any vehicle overtaking the school bus shall comply with subsection (a) hereof.

   (d)   School buses operating on divided highways or on highways with four or more traffic lanes shall receive and discharge all school children, persons attending programs offered by community boards of mental health and County boards of developmental disabilities, and children attending programs offered by head start agencies  on their residence side of the highway.

   (e)   No school bus driver shall start the driver’s bus until after any child, person attending programs offered by community boards of mental health and County boards of developmental disabilities, or child attending a program offered by a head start agency who may have alighted therefrom has reached a place of safety on the child or person’s residence side of the road.

   (f)   As used in this section:

      (1)   “Head start agency” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 3301.32.

      (2)   “School bus”, as used in relation to children who attend a program offered by a head start agency, means a bus that is owned and operated by a head start agency, is equipped with an automatically extended stop warning sign of a type approved by the State Board of Education, is painted the color and displays the markings described in Ohio R.C. 4511.77, and is equipped with amber and red visual signals meeting the requirements of Ohio R.C. 4511.771, irrespective of whether or not the bus has fifteen or more children aboard at any time.  “School bus” does not include a van owned and operated by a head start agency, irrespective of its color, lights, or markings. 

   (g)   (1)   Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section may be fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).  A person who is issued a citation for a violation of subsection (a) of this section is not permitted to enter a written plea of guilty and waive the person’s right to contest the citation in a trial but instead must appear in person in the proper court to answer the charge.

      (2)   In addition to and independent of any other penalty provided by law, the court or mayor may impose upon an offender who violates this section a class seven suspension of the offender’s driver’s license, commercial driver’s license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (a)(7) of Ohio R.C. 4510.02.  When a license is suspended under this section, the court or mayor shall cause the offender to deliver the license to the court, and the court or clerk of the court immediately shall forward the license to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, together with notice of the court’s action.  (ORC 4511.75)

432.31 SHORTCUTTING ACROSS PRIVATE PROPERTY.

   No person shall operate a motor vehicle from one public street or highway to another by means of driving across private property within 200 feet of an intersection of two or more public streets or highways with the intent to avoid driving through an intersection or to avoid any traffic control device there situated for the purpose of regulating traffic.

(Ord. 1969-54. Passed 7-7-69.)

432.32 WEAVING.

   No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon any street or highway in a weaving or zigzag course unless such irregular course is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

432.325 FAILURE TO CONTROL; FULL TIME AND ATTENTION.

   (a)   No person shall operate a vehicle without exercising reasonable and ordinary control over such vehicle.

   (b)   No person shall operate a vehicle without giving his full time and attention to the operation of such vehicle.

   (c)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

432.33 ENTERING AND EXITING CONTROLLED-ACCESS HIGHWAY.

   No person shall drive a vehicle onto or from any controlled-access highway except at such entrances and exits as are established by public authority.

(Ord. 1969-54. Passed 7-7-69.)

432.34 OBSTRUCTING INTERSECTIONS, CROSSWALKS OR GRADE CROSSINGS.

   (a)   No driver shall enter an intersection or marked crosswalk or drive onto any railroad grade crossing unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection, crosswalk or grade crossing to accommodate the vehicle he is operating without obstructing the passage of other vehicles, pedestrians or railroad trains, notwithstanding any traffic control signal indication to proceed.

   (b)   If the offender commits the offense while distracted and the distracting activity is a contributing factor to the commission of the offense, the offender is subject to the additional fine established under Section 404.991 of the Traffic Code.  (ORC 4511.712)

432.35 "PEELING"; CRACKING EXHAUST NOISES.

   No person shall unnecessarily race the motor of any vehicle and no person shall operate any motor vehicle, except in an emergency, in such a manner that the vehicle is so rapidly accelerated or started from a stopped position that the exhaust system emits a loud, cracking or chattering noise unusual to its normal operation, or whereby the rubber tires of such vehicle squeal or leave tire marks on the roadway, commonly called "peeling. "

(Ord. 1969-54. Passed 7-7-69.)