Traffic & Speeding Laws in Ohio

• Violating speeding laws results in fines and points on your license. Rolfo Rolf Brenner/Photodisc/Getty Images

  According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, 1,028 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2009. In order to protect motorists as well as pedestrians, Ohio established traffic laws in Chapter 4511 of the Ohio Revised Code. To remain safe and avoid being fined by law enforcement, familiarize yourself with Ohio's traffic laws.

Speed Limits

• Ohio's maximum and minimum speed limits depend on the district, type of road and weight of your vehicle. When driving in a school zone, you cannot exceed 20 mph while kids are coming to school, leaving school or out at recess. State routes within urban settings require you to drive 35 mph while state routes outside urban districts allow you to drive 50 mph, unless otherwise posted. Vehicles speed up to 65 mph on freeways unless sign posts lower speed limits. If you're driving a vehicle that weighs more than 8,000 lbs., you must drive no faster than 65 mph on rural interstates and designated highways. The state also posts minimum speed limits on controlled-access highways. If a minimum speed is not posted, you cannot not drive so slow as to "impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or comply with the laws," according to the Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicle Laws, published by the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

Passing

• In order to establish safe roadways and accommodate the flow of traffic, Ohio insists that all vehicles moving slower than the flow of traffic use the right lane. If you're driving on a two-lane road, moving slower the rest of the traffic, you must stay close to the right-hand curb or the edge of the road, so other vehicles can pass when the left lane is clear of oncoming traffic. According to Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicle Laws, you cannot pass another vehicle in the left lane if you're approaching a curve in the road, within 100 feet of a bridge or within 100 feet of a railroad crossing. You may only pass a vehicle moving slower than the speed of traffic on the right if that vehicle is about to turn left or the pavement can accommodate two or more lines of traffic driving in the same direction.

Safety Belts

• Ohio law requires you to wear a safety belt if you're driving or riding in the front seat of a passenger vehicle. When a teenager under the age of 18 drives a vehicles, the number of passengers in the car cannot exceed the number of seats belts available. All occupants must wear a seat belt when being transported by a driver under 18 years old. If you're caught by law enforcement for not wearing your safety belt, drivers will be fined $30 as of 2010 while front seat passengers will be fined $20. However, a ticket for not wearing your safety belt won't result in points on your license. Exemptions to the safety belt law include: children who fall under child restraint laws, drivers who deliver mail or newspapers, drivers with an affidavit from a doctor citing that safety belt would irritate a medical condition and four-person vehicles built before 1966.