Two Republican Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill into the Ohio House of Representatives that wants to increase penalties for reckless driving.
House Bill (HB) 56, sponsored by State Representatives Andrea White (R-Kettering) (pictured above, right) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) (pictured above, left), aims to stop reckless driving, also known as “hooning,” from creating dangerous conditions on Ohio roads.
As defined by HB 56, “Hooning” means the operation of a motor vehicle recklessly or dangerously to provoke a reaction from spectators by speeding, street racing, performing donuts, burnouts, drifting, rapid acceleration, squealing tires, or engine revving, or allowing passengers to ride partially or fully outside of the motor vehicle.
The legislation would prohibit hooning on public roads or private property open to the public.
According to Plummer, the problem is plaguing the cities of Columbus, Dayton, and Trotwood, and reckless drivers are causing property damage and putting themselves and other citizens in danger.
“It has to stop and the best way to make it stop is to increase penalties,” Plummer said in a statement.
Currently, when law enforcement catches a joyrider, the punishment is only a minor misdemeanor that comes with a $150 fine for a first offense.
HB 56 tries to crack down on this practice by creating new offenses for those who participate in hooning, particularly as an operator or passenger of the motor vehicle with a first-degree misdemeanor, potential license suspension, and potential seizure and forfeiture under Ohio’s current forfeiture law.
Not only does the bill increase the penalty for reckless driving, but it creates penalties for spectators too. Law enforcement could charge spectators there deliberately to watch or assist in the logistics of the hooning event with an unclassified misdemeanor with a potential fine.
According to White, this legislation is at the request of local law enforcement and elected city leaders who asked for more tools to combat the dangerous craze of reckless driving.
“We need to support our local communities looking for a statewide solution to this problem. One that doesn’t offer a patchwork of local ordinances that can be used by cities and townships alike. Our roadways are made for transit to school, to work, to the store, to bring people to opportunities, not for this type of activity that risks injury to lives and property – not only to those involved but to innocent people who may be caught in harm’s way by fleeing vehicles,” White said.
White said that cities are spending money on staff over time and installing speed deterrents to make roadways more safe and unattractive to reckless drivers. For example, the Ohio State Patrol has activated both funds and its aviation resources to assist in deterring reckless driving. The city of Dayton, in particular, has invested over $400,000 in safety upgrades.
There are exceptions to the law. The legislation does not consider a person at the wrong place at the wrong time a spectator for purposes of the bill’s prohibitions or penalties.
The legislation also increases the penalties for willfully eluding or fleeing a police officer using a motor vehicle from a first-degree misdemeanor to a fourth-degree felony. It also increases the penalty from a fourth-degree felony to a third-degree felony if the flight is immediately after the commission of a felony.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, there were 42,795 unintentional motor vehicle deaths last year.
Ohio lawmakers introduced a similar bill HB 740 last general assembly to prohibit hooning, but it stalled in the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee before the end of the session.
House Bill 56 is under review by the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee and has garnered support from the Dayton Police Department and the City of Trotwood.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Andrea White” by Andrea White for Ohio. Photo “Phil Plummer” by Phil Plummer for State Representative. Background Photo “Ohio Statehouse” by Sixflashphoto. CC BY-SA 4.0.
