OHIO House Bill 191
If you drive your car on a public street, your car can be seized for ANY moving violation according to this bill.
Join the fight to have this ridiculous bill shut down.
Many individuals who will be voting on this bill will not have read it, or simply have just skimmed through it, but the consequences will devastating for all Ohio drivers.
This bill hides behind the topic of being tougher on street racing in Ohio; in reality we already have a clearly defined street racing law in Ohio. But you don’t street race so there is nothing to worry about. WRONG
The bill expands the definition of "street racing" to also include "any exhibition of speed or acceleration that is inconsistent with the normal operation of a vehicle on a public road, street, or highway."
Also giving officers “Authority to arrest without a warrant”
Under the bill, in addition to any other sanctions, the court must order the criminal forfeiture of the motor vehicle the offender was operating at the time the offender committed street racing if either of the following applies: (1) the motor vehicle the offender was operating at the time of such violation is registered in the offender's name, or (2) the motor vehicle the offender was operating at the time of such violation is not registered in the offender's name but is registered in the name of another person, and the person in whose name the motor vehicle is registered or the person in control of the motor vehicle permitted the offender to operate the motor vehicle and that person knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the offender would operate the motor vehicle in violation of the street racing prohibition or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance.
What does this mean for Ohio drivers? Instead of a simple speeding ticked you can now have your car seized and sold at auction for such an offence. Any moving violation now becomes grounds to have your car seized!
What if you do not believe that you were doing anything wrong? Well they have that covered as well with this bill. As stated in the bill it gives officers “Authority to arrest without a warrant” This bill gives complete authority to the officer to determine what is considered “street racing”; you will have no say in the matter to plead your case.
Many could speculate that there is a political agenda here. It could be to generate more revenue through increased vehicle seizures and higher fines. It could be part of the movement to combat the collector car hobby and car enthusiast. Would you take out your beautiful 57 Chevy you spent 10 years restoring just to have it seized because someone personally believes you left that last stop light a little to fast? One thing is for certain, this bill has very little to do with street racing. There has been a lot of biased media coverage about this bill which conveniently leaves out any mention of the new expanded definition of street racing. Please go to:
http://www.legislature.state.o...s128/h0191-i-128.htm
and READ THE BILL.
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