Public Safety
Ohio drivers could pay $100 more in work zones
The bill adds a separate penalty for violations in signed construction zones, but drivers could skip the extra cost by finishing a state-approved safety course within 90 days.
Ohio lawmakers are trying to make construction-zone violations costlier. The proposal adds an extra fine of up to $100 when the offense happens in a signed work zone, and it gives drivers a chance to take a safety course instead.
- Extra fine: up to $100 in signed work zones
- Drivers could avoid the fee by taking a safety course
- Ohio would also set standards for online driver education
- The bill is named the Trenton Gallaway Work Zone Safety Act
- In Ohio, a driver who speeds in a posted construction zone could face more than the usual traffic penalty
In Ohio, a driver who speeds in a posted construction zone could face more than the usual traffic penalty. The Trenton Gallaway Work Zone Safety Act would add an extra fine of up to $100 when the offense happens in a signed work zone, putting a clearer price on the kind of driving that can put road crews and other motorists at risk.
The proposal gives drivers one way out. Instead of paying that added amount, an offender could take a driving-safety course set by the Department of Public Safety. If the course is completed and proof is filed with the court within 90 days, the extra fine would not have to be paid.
A ticket with an added sting
The change is meant to make work-zone violations harder to shrug off. It does not replace the underlying traffic law. It adds a specific penalty when the violation happens where construction is already narrowing lanes, slowing traffic and putting workers close to moving cars.
The bill also amends section 4511.98 and other traffic-offense provisions tied to construction zones, tightening the way Ohio treats those offenses without rewriting the broader traffic code.
The lesson before the license
The measure reaches beyond enforcement and into driver education. Ohio’s public safety director would have to write rules for online driver education courses that can satisfy the classroom instruction new drivers need.
Those rules would have to cover licensing standards for online training companies, secure delivery, and content that matches in-person instruction. The bill also says the courses should teach the habits that matter most on the road, including distracted driving, the dangers of driving after using controlled substances, prescription medication or alcohol, and the rules that come with driving through a construction zone.