335.031 DRIVING WITH PROBATIONARY LICENSE; CURFEW.
(a) (1) A. No holder of a probationary driver’s license, who has not attained the age of seventeen years shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking between the hours of midnight and six a.m. unless the holder is accompanied by the holder’s parent or guardian.
B. No holder of a probationary driver’s license who has attained the age of seventeen years but has not attained the age of eighteen years shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking between the hours of one a.m. and five a.m. unless the holder is accompanied by the holder’s parent or guardian.
(2) A. Subject to subsection (c)(1)A., subsection (a)(1)A. does not apply to the holder of a probationary driver’s license who is traveling to or from work between the hours of midnight and six a.m. and has in the holder’s immediate possession written documentation from the holder’s employer.
B. Subsection (a)(1)B. does not apply to the holder of a probationary driver’s license who is traveling to or from work between the hours of one a.m. and five a.m. and has in the holder’s immediate possession written documentation from the holder’s employer.
(3) An employer is not liable in damages in a civil action for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from, or is related to, the fact that the employer provided an employee who is the holder of a probationary driver’s license with the written documentation described in subsection (a)(2) .
The registrar of motor vehicles shall make available at no cost a form to serve as the written documentation described in subsection (a)(2), and employers and holders of probationary driver’s licenses may utilize that form or may choose to utilize any other written documentation to meet the requirements of that division.
(4) No holder of a probationary driver’s license who is less than seventeen years of age shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking with more than one person who is not a family member occupying the vehicle unless the probationary license holder is accompanied by the probationary license holder’s parent, guardian, or custodian.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of subsection (a)(1)A. or B. hereof if, at the time of the violation, the holder of the probationary driver’s license was traveling to or from an official function sponsored by the school the holder attends, or an emergency existed that required the holder to operate a motor vehicle in violation of subsection (a)(1)A. or B. hereof, or the holder was an emancipated minor.
(c) (1) A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c)(2) hereof, if a person is issued a probationary driver’s license prior to attaining the age of seventeen years and the person pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed a moving violation during the six-month period commencing on the date on which the person is issued the probationary driver’s license, the holder must be accompanied by the holder’s parent or guardian whenever the holder is operating a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking during whichever of the following time periods applies:
1. If, on the date the holder of the probationary driver’s license pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed the moving violation, the holder has not attained the age of sixteen years six months, during the six-month period commencing on that date;
2. If, on the date the holder pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed the moving violation, the holder has attained the age of sixteen years six months but not seventeen years, until the person attains the age of seventeen years.
B. If the holder of a probationary driver’s license commits a moving violation during the six-month period after the person is issued the probationary driver’s license and before the person attains the age of seventeen years and on the date the person pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed the moving violation, the person has attained the age of seventeen years, or if the person commits the moving violation during the six- month period after the person is issued the probationary driver’s license and after the person attains the age of seventeen years, the holder is not subject to the restriction described in subsection (c)(1)A.1. and 2. hereof unless the court or juvenile court imposes such a restriction upon the holder.
(2) Any person who is subject to the operating restrictions established under subsection (c)(1) of this section as a result of a first moving violation may petition the court for occupational or educational driving privileges without being accompanied by the holder’s parent or guardian during the period of time specified in that subsection. The court may grant the person such driving privileges if the court finds reasonable cause to believe that the restrictions established in subsection (c)(1) will seriously affect the person’s ability to continue in employment or educational training or will cause undue hardship on the license holder or a family member of the license holder. In granting the driving privileges, the court shall specify the purposes, times, and places of the privileges and shall issue the person appropriate forms setting forth the privileges granted. Occupational or educational driving privileges under this subsection shall not be granted to the same person more than once. If a person is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed a second or subsequent moving violation, any driving privileges previously granted under this subsection are terminated upon the subsequent conviction, plea, or adjudication.
(3) No person shall violate subsection (c)(1)A. hereof.
(d) No holder of a probationary license shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking unless the total number of occupants of the vehicle does not exceed the total number of occupant restraining devices originally installed in the motor vehicle by its manufacturer, and each occupant of the vehicle is wearing all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer shall cause the operator of a motor vehicle being operated on any street or highway to stop the motor vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether each occupant of the motor vehicle is wearing all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device as required by subsection (d) hereof, or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons if the requirement in that subsection has been or is being violated, or for causing the arrest of or commencing a prosecution of a person for a violation of that requirement.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer shall cause the operator of a motor vehicle being operated on any street or highway to stop the motor vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of subsection (a)(1)A. or B. hereof has been or is being committed or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons for such a violation or for causing the arrest of or commencing a prosecution of a person for such violation.
(g) As used in this section:
(1) “Occupant restraining device” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 4513.263.
(2) “Family member” of a probationary license holder includes any of the following:
A. A spouse;
B. A child or stepchild;
C. A parent, stepparent, grandparent, or parent-in-law;
D. An aunt or uncle;
E. A sibling, whether or the whole or half blood or by adoption, a brother-in-law or a sister-in-law;
F. A son or daughter of the probationary license holder’s stepparent if the stepparent has not adopted the probationary license holder;
G. An eligible adult, as defined in Ohio R.C. 4507.05.
(3) “Moving violation” means any violation of any statute or ordinance that regulates the operation of vehicles, streetcars, or trackless trolleys on the highways or streets. “Moving violation” does not include a violation of Ohio R.C. 4513.263 or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, or a violation of any statute or ordinance regulating pedestrians or the parking of vehicles, vehicle size or load limitations, vehicle fitness requirements, or vehicle registration.
(h) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(ORC 4507.071)