When is a vehicle not a vehicle

[Dillon Hunt]

Ohio Police and Fire Department Vehicles are not Vehicles, and so not Motor Vehicle. Must be nice.

As used in this chapter and Chapters 4503., 4505., 4507., 4509., 4510., 4511., 4513., 4515., and 4517. of the Ohio Revised Code, and in the penal laws, except as otherwise provided:


(A) "Vehicles" means everything on wheels or runners, including motorized bicycles, but does not mean vehicles that are operated exclusively on rails or tracks or from overhead electric trolley wires and vehicles that belong to any police department, municipal fire department, or volunteer fire department, or that are used by such a department in the discharge of its functions.

(B) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle, including mobile homes and recreational vehicles, that is propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power or power collected from overhead electric trolley wires. "Motor vehicle" does not include utility vehicles as defined in division (VV) of this section, motorized bicycles, road rollers, traction engines, power shovels, power cranes, and other equipment used in construction work and not designed for or employed in general highway transportation, well-drilling machinery, ditch-digging machinery, farm machinery, trailers that are used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage or supply and the farm when drawn or towed on a public road or highway at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less, threshing machinery, hay-baling machinery, corn sheller, hammermill and agricultural tractors, machinery used in the production of horticultural, agricultural, and vegetable products, and trailers that are designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a public road or highway for a distance of no more than ten miles and at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less.

[fulltitle]

(A) "Vehicles" means everything on wheels or runners, including motorized bicycles, but does not mean vehicles that are operated exclusively on rails or tracks or from overhead electric trolley wires and vehicles that belong to any police department, municipal fire department, or volunteer fire department, or that are used by such a department in the discharge of its functions.

Gotta really watch how you read that. It can be read varous ways. But this is how I'd read it at first glance.

(A) "Vehicles" means everything in the State of Ohio on wheels or runners,

i) including motorized bicycles in the State of Ohio and

ii) vehicles that belong to any police department in the State of Ohio, municipal fire department in the State of Ohio, or volunteer fire department in the State of Ohio, or that are used by such a department in the State of Ohio in the discharge of its functions

--but does not mean vehicles in the State of Ohio that are operated exclusively on rails or tracks or from overhead electric trolley wires.

i) ...means everything on wheels or runners, ...

BTW, the word runner can mean a 'vessel involved in smuggling'. Just FYI.

[Dillon Hunt]

It is very confusing try this read of it.

I like this one better.

(A) "Vehicles" means everything on wheels or runners, including motorized bicycles, but does not mean everything on wheels plus motorized bicycles that are operated exclusively on rails or tracks or from overhead electric trolley wires and everything on wheels plus motorized bicycles that belong to any police department, municipal fire department, or volunteer fire department, or that are used by such a department in the discharge of its functions.

(B) "Motor vehicle" means any everything on wheels plus (motorized bicycle) also everything on wheels plus (motorized bicycle) that belongs to any police and fire departments, including mobile homes and recreational vehicles, that is propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power or power collected from overhead electric trolley wires. "Motor vehicle" does not include utility vehicles as defined in division (VV) of this section, (motorized bicycles), road rollers, traction engines, power shovels, power cranes, and other equipment used in construction work and not designed for or employed in general highway transportation, well-drilling machinery, ditch-digging machinery, farm machinery, trailers that are used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage or supply and etc.