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(a) (1) No person who is the owner or operator of a motor vehicle shall fail to display in plain view on the front and rear of the motor vehicle a license plate that bears the distinctive number and registration mark assigned to the motor vehicle by the Ohio Director of Public Safety, including any county identification sticker and any validation sticker issued under R.C. §§ 4503.19 and 4503.191, except as follows:
A. A manufacturer of motor vehicles or dealer therein, the holder of an in transit permit, and the owner or operator of a motorcycle, motorized bicycle or moped, motor-driven cycle or motor scooter, autocycle, cab-enclosed motorcycle, manufactured home, mobile home, trailer, or semitrailer shall display a license plate on the rear only.
B. A motor vehicle that is issued two license plates shall display the validation sticker only on the rear license plate, except that a commercial tractor that does not receive an apportioned license plate under the international registration plan shall display the validation sticker on the front of the commercial tractor.
C. An apportioned vehicle receiving an apportioned license plate under the international registration plan shall display the license plate only on the front of a commercial tractor and on the rear of all other vehicles.
(2) All license plates shall be securely fastened so as not to swing, and shall not be covered by any material that obstructs their visibility.
(3) No person to whom a temporary license placard or windshield sticker has been issued for the use of a motor vehicle under R.C. § 4503.182, and no operator of that motor vehicle, shall fail to display the temporary license placard in plain view from the rear of the vehicle either in the rear window or on an external rear surface of the motor vehicle, or fail to display the windshield sticker in plain view on the rear window of the motor vehicle. No temporary license placard or windshield sticker shall be covered by any material that obstructs its visibility.
(4) A law enforcement officer shall only issue a ticket, citation, or summons, or cause the arrest or commence a prosecution, for the failure to display a license plate in plain view on the front of a parked motor vehicle if the officer first determines that another offense has occurred and either places the operator or vehicle owner under arrest or issues a ticket, citation, or summons to the operator or vehicle owner for the other offense.
(R.C. § 4503.21(A), (B))
(b) No person shall operate or drive upon the highways of this Municipality a motor vehicle acquired from a former owner who has registered the motor vehicle, while the motor vehicle displays the distinctive number or identification mark assigned to it upon its original registration.
(ORC 4549.11(A))
(c) No person who is the owner of a motor vehicle and a resident of this State shall operate or drive the motor vehicle upon the highways of this Municipality while it displays a distinctive number or identification mark issued by or under the authority of another state, without complying with the laws of this State relating to the registration and identification of motor vehicles.
(ORC 4549.12(A))
(d) No person shall park or operate any vehicle upon any public street or highway upon which are displayed any license plates for any period of time which has expired, or any license plates issued in another state for which the period of reciprocal agreement with the state of issue has expired.
(e) No person shall park or operate any vehicle upon any public street or highway upon which are displayed any license plates not legally registered and issued for such vehicle, or upon which are displayed any license plates that were issued on an application for registration that contains any false statement by the applicant.
(f) No person shall operate a motor vehicle, upon which license plates are required by law to be displayed, unless the license plates legally registered and issued for such vehicle are fastened in such a manner, and not covered, obscured or concealed by any part or accessory of such vehicle, to be readable in their entirety from left to right.
(g) No person shall loan, sell, give away or otherwise traffic in any number or license plate or plates issued by any state or other duly authorized governmental agency in connection with the registration of a motor vehicle, provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to apply to the issuance of a number or license plate or plates pursuant to law.
(h) No person shall park a motor vehicle upon private property without the consent of the owner of such property, which vehicle does not bear or display the distinctive number or identification mark assigned to it upon registration in this or any other jurisdiction, which registration is current.
(i) Except as provided in Section 408.01(b) and (c), whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(ORC 4503.21(B))
(a) No person shall operate or drive a motor vehicle upon the public roads and highways in this Municipality if it displays a license plate or a distinctive number or identification mark that meets any of the following criteria:
(1) It is fictitious;
(2) It is a counterfeit or an unlawfully made copy of any distinctive number or identification mark;
(3) It belongs to another motor vehicle, provided that this section does not apply to a motor vehicle that is operated on the public roads and highways in this Municipality when the motor vehicle displays license plates that originally were issued for a motor vehicle that previously was owned by the same person who owns the motor vehicle that is operated on the public roads and highways in this Municipality during the 30-day period described in Ohio R.C. 4503.12(A)(4).
(b) Whoever violates division (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section is guilty of operating a motor vehicle bearing an invalid license plate or identification mark, this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on a first offense and a misdemeanor of the third degree on each subsequent offense.
(a) (1) In the case of a motor vehicle accident or collision with persons or property on a public road or highway, the operator of the motor vehicle, having knowledge of the accident or collision, immediately shall stop the operator’s motor vehicle at the scene of the accident or collision. The operator shall remain at the scene of the accident or collision until the operator has given the operator’s name and address and, if the operator is not the owner, the name and address of the owner of that motor vehicle, together with the registered number of that motor vehicle, to all of the following:
A. Any person injured in the accident or collision;
B. The operator, occupant, owner, or attendant of any motor vehicle damaged in the accident or collision;
C. The police officer at the scene of the accident or collision.
(2) In the event an injured person is unable to comprehend and record the information required to be given under division (a)(1) of this section, the other operator involved in the accident or collision shall notify the nearest police authority concerning the location of the accident or collision, and the operator’s name, address, and the registered number of the motor vehicle the operator was operating. The operator shall remain at the scene of the accident or collision until a police officer arrives, unless removed from the scene by an emergency vehicle operated by a political subdivision or an ambulance.
(3) If the accident or collision is with an unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle, the operator who collides with the motor vehicle shall securely attach the information required to be given in this section, in writing, to a conspicuous place in or on the unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle.
(b) (1) Whoever violates division (a) of this section is guilty of failure to stop after an accident. Except as otherwise provided in division (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section, failure to stop after an accident is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) If the accident or collision results in serious physical harm to a person, failure to stop after an accident is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(3) If the accident or collision results in the death of a person, failure to stop after an accident is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(4) In all cases, the court, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, shall impose upon the offender a class five 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 Ohio R.C. 4510.02(A)(5). No judge shall suspend the first six months of suspension of an offender’s license, permit, or privilege required by this division.
(5) The offender shall provide the court with proof of financial responsibility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4509.01. If the offender fails to provide that proof of financial responsibility, then, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, the court may order restitution pursuant to Ohio R.C. 2929.18 or 2929.28 in an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) for any economic loss arising from an accident or collision that was the direct and proximate result of the offender’s operation of the motor vehicle before, during, or after committing the offense charged under this section.
(ORC 4549.02)
(a) (1) In the case of a motor vehicle accident or collision resulting in injury or damage to persons or property on any public or private property other than a public road or highway, the operator of the motor vehicle, having knowledge of the accident or collision, shall stop at the scene of the accident or collision. Upon request of any person who is injured or damaged, or any other person, the operator shall give that person the operator’s name and address, and, if the operator is not the owner, the name and address of the owner of that motor vehicle, together with the registered number of that motor vehicle, and, if available, exhibit the operator’s driver’s or commercial driver’s license.
(2) If the operator of the motor vehicle involved in the accident or collision does not provide the information specified in division (a)(1) of this section, the operator shall give that information, within 24 hours after the accident or collision, to the police department of the city or village in which the accident or collision occurred, or if it occurred outside the corporate limits of a city or village, to the sheriff of the county in which the accident or collision occurred.
(3) If the accident or collision is with an unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle, the operator who collides with the motor vehicle shall securely attach the information required under division (a)(1) of this section, in writing, to a conspicuous place in or on the unoccupied or unattended motor vehicle.
(b) (1) Whoever violates division (a) of this section is guilty of failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident. Except as otherwise provided in division (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section, failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) If the accident or collision results in serious physical harm to a person, failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(3) If the accident or collision results in the death of a person, failure to stop after a nonpublic road accident is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(4) In all cases, the court, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, shall impose upon the offender a class five 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 Ohio R.C. 4510.02(A)(5). No judge shall suspend the first six months of suspension of an offender’s license, permit, or privilege required by this division.
(5) The offender shall provide the court with proof of financial responsibility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4509.01. If the offender fails to provide that proof of financial responsibility, then, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, the court may order restitution pursuant to Ohio R.C. 2929.18 or 2929.28 in an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) for any economic loss arising from an accident or collision that was the direct and proximate result of the offender’s operation of the motor vehicle before, during, or after committing the offense charged under this section.
(ORC 4549.021)
(a) (1) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in damage to real property, or personal property attached to real property, legally upon or adjacent to a public road or highway immediately shall stop and take reasonable steps to locate and notify the owner or person in charge of the property of that fact, of the driver's name and address, and of the registration number of vehicle the driver is driving and, upon request and if available, shall exhibit the driver's or commercial driver's license.
(2) If the owner or person in charge of the property cannot be located after reasonable search, the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident resulting in damage to the property, within 24 hours after the accident, shall forward to the police department of the municipality the same information required to be given to the owner or person in control of the property and give the location of the accident and a description of the damage insofar as it is known.
(b) (1) Whoever violates division (a) of this section is guilty of failure to stop after an accident involving the property of others, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) The offender shall provide the court with proof of financial responsibility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4509.01. If the offender fails to provide that proof of financial responsibility, then, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, the court may order restitution in an amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for any economic loss arising from an accident or collision that was the direct and proximate result of the offender’s operation of the motor vehicle before, during, or after committing the offense charged under this section.