Section 4507.071 | Probationary license - restrictions - violations.
(A) No driver's license shall be issued to any person under eighteen years of age, except that a probationary license may be issued to a person who is at least sixteen years of age and has held a temporary instruction permit for a period of at least six months.
(B)(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 division (D)(1)(a) of this section, division (B)(1)(a) of this section 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) Division (B)(1)(b) of this section 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 division (B)(2) of this section.
The registrar of motor vehicles shall make available at no cost a form to serve as the written documentation described in division (B)(2) of this section, 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.
(C) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section 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 division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, or the holder was an emancipated minor.
(D)(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of this section, 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:
(i) 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;
(ii) 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 divisions (D)(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of this section 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 division (D)(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 division. The court may grant the person such driving privileges if the court finds reasonable cause to believe that the restrictions established in division (D)(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 division 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 division are terminated upon the subsequent conviction, plea, or adjudication.
(3) No person shall violate division (D)(1)(a) of this section.
(E) 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.
(F) A restricted license may be issued to a person who is fourteen or fifteen years of age upon proof of hardship satisfactory to the registrar of motor vehicles.
(G) 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 division (E) of this section, or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons if the requirement in that division 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.
(H) 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 division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section 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.
(I) As used in this section:
(1) "Occupant restraining device" has the same meaning as in section 4513.263 of the Revised Code.
(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 of 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 section 4507.05 of the Revised Code.
(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 section 4513.263 of the Revised Code 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.
(J) Whoever violates division (B)(1) or (4), (D)(3), or (E) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
Available Versions of this Section
- April 7, 2009 – House Bill 320 - 127th General Assembly [ View April 7, 2009 Version ]
- July 1, 2015 – House Bill 53 - 131st General Assembly [ View July 1, 2015 Version ]