S.B. No. 77 Summary

• Enacts new section 4510.19 creating two offenses for operating a motor vehicle while license is suspended due to wrong-way driving on interstate freeways: a misdemeanor with up to one year jail and $1,000 fine, or a felony of the third degree with three-year prison term and up to $10,000 fine if harm to a person results.

• Amends section 4511.35 to require offenders to appear in court in person rather than enter written guilty pleas when cited for operating on the left-hand roadway of an interstate highway under specified conditions.

• Imposes class seven license suspension (mandatory minimum period) for operating on the wrong side of an interstate for 500 feet or more.

• Imposes class three license suspension (longer mandatory minimum period) for operating on the wrong side of an interstate when involved in a collision causing physical harm or death to another person.

• Creates felony of the fourth degree charge for violating wrong-way driving rules while simultaneously committing a DUI or equivalent offense on an interstate highway.