[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State 

v. Turner, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-6773.] 

NOTICE 

This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an 

advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested to 

promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 

South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other 

formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before 

the opinion is published. 

SLIP OPINION NO. 2020-OHIO-6773

THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLEE, v. TURNER, APPELLANT. 

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 

may be cited as State v. Turner, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-6773.] 

Traffic law—Marked-lanes violation—Statutory scheme merely discourages or 

prohibits a vehicle from crossing the fog line, not touching it—Judgment 

reversed. 

(No. 2019-1674—Submitted August 18, 2020—Decided December 22, 2020.) 

CERTIFIED by the Court of Appeals for Clermont County, No. CA2018-11-082,

2019-Ohio-3950. 

__________________ 

KENNEDY, J. 

{¶ 1} This case was accepted as a certified conflict between judgments of 

the Twelfth District and First, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Eleventh District 

Courts of Appeals. The Twelfth District certified the issue in conflict as follows: 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

2

Does an officer have reasonable and articulable suspicion to 

conduct a traffic stop of a motor vehicle for a marked lanes violation 

under R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) when the officer observes the tires of a 

vehicle driving on, but not across a marked lane line? 

157 Ohio St.3d 1544, 2020-Ohio-94, 137 N.E.3d 1225. 

{¶ 2} We conclude upon review of the certified question that when an 

officer believes a traffic law has been violated, the focus of the inquiry is whether 

the officer had “probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred.” 

Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 810, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996); 

see also Dayton v. Erickson, 76 Ohio St.3d 3, 665 N.E.2d 1091 (1996), syllabus. 

We therefore consider the certified question within that context and answer it in the 

negative. 

{¶ 3} We hold, based on the plain language of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), the

definitions set forth in R.C. 4511.01, and the statutory scheme as a whole, that the 

single solid white longitudinal line on the right-hand edge of a roadway—the fog 

line—merely “discourages or prohibits” a driver from “crossing” it; it does not 

prohibit “driving on” or “touching” it. Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices 

(“MUTCD”) Section 3A.06(B) (Jan. 13, 2012). 

{¶ 4} Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the Twelfth District Court of 

Appeals and remand this matter to that court to address the issue raised there by 

appellee, the state of Ohio: whether the State Highway Patrol trooper reasonably 

believed that appellant, Ryan Turner, violated the law when he drove on the fog 

line, rendering the trooper’s stop of Turner lawful. 

I. Facts and Procedural Background 

{¶ 5} A State Highway Patrol trooper stopped Turner as Turner was driving 

on Old State Route 74, a two-lane, two-way road in Clermont County, for failing 

to drive within the marked lanes in violation of R.C. 4511.33. As a result of the 
January Term, 2020 

3

stop, Turner was charged with committing a marked-lanes violation under R.C. 

4511.33 and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in violation 

of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(a) and (d). 

{¶ 6} Turner filed a motion to suppress the evidence of driving under the 

influence of alcohol that had been obtained during the traffic stop, arguing that the 

trooper did not have probable cause or a reasonable and articulable suspicion to 

initiate the stop. The trooper testified that he had observed the two right-side tires 

of Turner’s vehicle touch the fog line on the right side of the roadway once and that 

that touch can be seen on the dash-cam video. 

{¶ 7} Old State Route 74 is visible in the relevant portion of the dash-cam 

video. The yellow center lines of the road are visible. The lane in which Turner 

was traveling is marked by a single solid yellow longitudinal line; next to that line 

is a single broken yellow longitudinal line. On both sides of Old State Route 74, a 

single solid white longitudinal line is present, which the trooper referred to in his 

testimony as the fog line. 

{¶ 8} After a hearing, the trial court granted the motion to suppress, 

concluding that a reasonable, prudent police officer would not have believed that a 

marked-lanes violation had occurred. The trial court stated that although it could 

not see the one-time touch of the fog line by Turner’s tires in the dash-cam video, 

it would take the trooper at his word that Turner’s tires had touched the line. It 

concluded that touching the line does not establish probable cause that a violation 

of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) has occurred. 

{¶ 9} The Twelfth District reversed the judgment of the trial court in a split 

decision. 2019-Ohio-3950, 145 N.E.3d 985. Construing the plain language of R.C. 

4511.33(A)(1), the majority determined that a driver “is not fully inside or ‘entirely 

within’ a single lane of traffic” when driving on a marked lane line, thereby 

rejecting the holdings of those courts of appeals that had determined that merely 

touching the lane line did not violate R.C. 4511.33(A)(1). Id. at ¶ 19. Having 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

4

determined that Turner violated R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), the court overruled the 

decision of the trial court and held that the trooper had “reasonable and articulable 

suspicion” to stop the vehicle for a traffic violation. Id. at ¶ 22. Disposing of the 

appeal on this basis, the majority declined to address the state’s alternative 

argument that the stop was lawful because the officer had made a reasonable 

mistake of law. Id. 

{¶ 10} The dissenting judge construed R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) by relying on the 

definition of “traffic control devises” in R.C. 4511.01(QQ) and the requirement in 

R.C. 4511.09 that the Ohio Department of Transportation (“ODOT”) adopt a 

manual for a uniform system of traffic-control devices. Id. at ¶ 25-26 (M. Powell, 

J., dissenting). Because the MUTCD only “ ‘discourages or prohibits crossing’ ” 

of the solid white line, and not touching or driving upon the line, the dissent 

concluded that a marked-lanes violation under R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) occurs only 

when a driver crosses the solid white line. Id. at ¶ 28, quoting MUTCD, Section 

3A.06B, at 390. 

II. Conflict Cases 

{¶ 11} The Twelfth District certified its judgment as being in conflict with 

judgments from the First, Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh District Courts of 

Appeals, which held that the touching or driving on the fog line does not constitute 

a violation of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1). See State v. Williams, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. 

C-960958, 1997 Ohio App. LEXIS 3467, *4-5 (Aug. 1, 1997) (officer did not have 

probable cause to believe that a marked-lanes violation occurred when vehicle tires 

were directly on but not over the fog line); State v. Smith, 2017-Ohio-5845, 94 

N.E.3d 1058, ¶ 25 (3d Dist.) (officer lacked reasonable, articulable suspicion to 

stop vehicle for driving on top of, but not crossing, the white line); State v. Marcum, 

2013-Ohio-2652, 993 N.E.2d 1289, ¶ 17 (5th Dist.) (driving on the white fog line 

was not a marked-lanes violation); State v. Parker, 6th Dist. Ottawa No. OT-12-

034, 2013-Ohio-3470, ¶ 7, 10 (motorist does not commit a marked-lanes violation 
January Term, 2020 

5

by traveling on the fog line); State v. Baker, 6th Dist. Wood No. WD-13-074, 2014-

Ohio-2564, ¶ 9 (officer lacked reasonable, articulable suspicion to stop vehicle for 

touching the white fog line); and State v. Kneier, 11th Dist. Portage No. 2015-P0006, 2015-Ohio-3419, ¶ 5, 17 (driving over the top of the fog line did not provide 

officer with probable cause for marked-lanes violation). 

{¶ 12} However, we find that the other cases certified as being in conflict 

with this one are in fact not. See State v. Franklin, 5th Dist. Licking No. 11-CA128, 2012-Ohio-3089.¶ 21 (trooper lacked reasonable suspicion to stop motorist 

when vehicle’s tires touched the far right line of the double solid centerline); State 

v. Richardson, 5th Dist. Delaware No. 00-CA-A-01-003, 2000 WL 1055917 (July 

14, 2000) (trooper lacked reasonable suspicion to stop motorist when his vehicle’s 

tires drove on top of centerline four times); State v. Konneh, 6th Dist. Wood No. 

WD17-007, 2018-Ohio-1239, ¶ 26 (trooper had reasonable suspicion to stop 

motorist when his vehicle’s tires completely crossed the lines separating the middle 

lane from the right lane); and State v. Grigoryan, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 93030, 

2010-Ohio-2883, ¶ 25 (police officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop motorist 

whose vehicle’s tires drove on the left yellow edge line). These cases did not 

concern a vehicle’s driving on or touching the fog line, and our holding today does 

not address them. 

III. The Parties’ Arguments 

{¶ 13} Turner argues that a majority of Ohio’s appellate courts have held 

that a marked-lanes violation does not occur unless the driver crosses the marked 

lane line. Therefore, touching a marked lane line does not provide either a 

reasonable, articulable suspicion or probable cause to permit a traffic stop. The 

state points to the language “entirely within” in R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) and asserts that 

a vehicle’s tires cannot touch any lane line and be entirely within a single lane of 

traffic. To hold otherwise, it argues, would allow drivers in each lane of travel to 

enter into the same space. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

6

IV. Analysis 

A. Standard of review 

{¶ 14} Appellate review of a ruling on a motion to suppress presents a

mixed question of law and fact. State v. Burnside, 100 Ohio St.3d 152, 2003-Ohio5372, 797 N.E.2d 71, ¶ 8. An appellate court must accept the trial court’s findings 

of fact if they are supported by competent, credible evidence. See State v. Fanning, 

1 Ohio St.3d 19, 20, 437 N.E.2d 583 (1982). But the appellate court must decide 

the legal questions de novo. Burnside at ¶ 8. 

{¶ 15} The trial court accepted as true the trooper’s assertion that Turner’s 

tires touched the white fog line. The parties do not dispute this factual finding. 

Therefore, our focus is the legal question of whether touching the solid white 

longitudinal line—the fog line—violates R.C. 4511.33(A)(1). 

B. R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) is unambiguous: the single solid white longitudinal line at 

issue here marks only the edge of the roadway and the statute merely 

“discourages or prohibits crossing” it 

{¶ 16} This court has not previously passed upon the question presented 

here. In State v. Mays, 119 Ohio St.3d 406, 2008-Ohio-4539, 894 N.E.2d 1204, 

¶ 16, we considered only whether a vehicle’s drifting back and forth across the edge 

of the roadway line was a violation of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), giving an officer a 

“reasonable and articulable suspicion” to stop the driver. 

{¶ 17} To resolve the issue before the court, we turn, once again, to 

statutory construction. In construing a statute, we do not ask “what did the general 

assembly intend to enact, but what is the meaning of that which it did enact.” 

Slingluff v. Weaver, 66 Ohio St. 621, 64 N.E. 574 (1902), paragraph two of the 

syllabus. “When the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous and conveys a 

clear and definite meaning, there is no need for this court to apply the rules of 

statutory interpretation.” Symmes Twp. Bd. of Trustees v. Smyth, 87 Ohio St.3d 

549, 553, 721 N.E.2d 1057 (2000). 
January Term, 2020 

7

{¶ 18} To determine the plain meaning of a statute, a court relies on the 

definitions provided by the legislative body, because a “definition by the average 

man or even by the ordinary dictionary with its studied enumeration of subtle 

shades of meaning is not a substitute for the definition set before us by the 

lawmakers with instructions to apply it to the exclusion of all others.” Fox v. Std. 

Oil Co. of New Jersey, 294 U.S. 87, 96, 55 S.Ct. 333, 79 L.Ed. 780 (1935). When 

a term is not defined in the statute, we use the term’s plain and ordinary meaning. 

Brecksville v. Cook, 75 Ohio St.3d 53, 56, 661 N.E.2d 706 (1996). And “[i]n 

ascertaining the plain meaning of the statute, the court must look to the particular 

statutory language at issue, as well as the language and design of the statute as a 

whole.” Kmart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 486 U.S. 281, 291, 108 S.C. 1811, 100 

L.Ed.2d 313 (1988). 

{¶ 19} R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) is part of an extensive statutory scheme 

regulating the operation of motor vehicles on Ohio roads. The meaning of the 

roadway marking at issue here, and the vehicular movement permitted by that 

roadway marking, becomes unmistakable when R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) is considered 

in the context of the definitions in R.C. 4511.01 and its place within the statutory 

and regulatory scheme. 

{¶ 20} R.C. 4511.09 gives ODOT authority to “adopt a manual for a 

uniform system of traffic control devices,” which ODOT did, the MUTCD. R.C. 

4511.10 gives ODOT authority to “place and maintain traffic control devices, 

conforming to its manual and specifications, upon all state highways as are 

necessary to indicate and to carry out sections 4511.01 to 4511.78 and 4511.99.” 

(Emphasis added.) “Traffic control devices” are defined as “a flagger, sign, signal, 

marking, or other device used to regularly warn, or guide traffic.” (Emphasis 

added.) R.C. 4511.01(QQ). Therefore, because the legislature has given ODOT 

authority to regulate marked lanes of traffic under R.C. 4511.09, we turn to the 

MUTCD for guidance. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

8

{¶ 21} Markings on roadways serve an important function by “providing 

guidance and information” to the motoring public. MUTCD, Section 3A.01.01. 

“Major marking types include pavement and curb markings.” Id. at Section 

3A.02.02. And “[e]ach standard marking shall be used only to convey the 

meaning prescribed for that marking in the OMUTCD.” (Boldface sic and 

emphasis added.) Id. at Section 3A.02.01. 

{¶ 22} Markings are required to be yellow, white, red, blue, or purple in 

color and must conform to standard highway colors. Id. at Section 3A.05.01. White 

markings used for longitudinal lines delineate either “A. The separation of traffic 

flows in the same direction, or B. The right-hand edge of the roadway.” (Boldface 

sic and emphasis added.) Id. at Section 3A.05.02. Yellow markings used for 

longitudinal lines delineate either “A. The separation of traffic traveling in 

opposite directions, B. The left-hand edge of the roadways of divided highways 

* * *, or C. The separation of two-way left turn lanes * * *.” (Boldface sic.) Id. 

at Section 3A.05.03. 

{¶ 23} The MUTCD sets forth the general function of longitudinal lines: 

“A. A double line indicates maximum or special restrictions, B. A solid line 

discourages or prohibits crossing (depending on the specific application), C. A 

broken line indicates a permissive condition, and D. A dotted line provides 

guidance or warning of a downstream change in lane function.” (Boldface sic 

and emphasis added.) Id. at Section 3A.06.01. A normal single line is four to six 

inches wide, and a broken line is a normal line with segments separated by gaps. 

Id. at Section 3A.06.02(A) and (D). 

{¶ 24} A yellow center line delineates a “separation of traffic lanes that 

have opposite directions of travel on the roadway.” (Boldface sic.) Id. at Section 

3B.01.01. A yellow center line might mark a two-lane, two-way roadway in three 

ways. Id. at Section 3B.01.04. Relevant to this case, one of those options is to 

provide 
January Term, 2020 

9

[o]ne-direction no-passing zone markings consisting of a double yellow 

line, one of which is a normal broken yellow line and the other is a 

normal solid yellow line where crossing the center line markings for 

passing with care is permitted for the traffic traveling adjacent to the 

broken line, but is prohibited for traffic traveling adjacent to the solid 

line. 

(Boldface sic.) Id. at Section 3B.01.04(B). 

{¶ 25} R.C. 4511.33, entitled “Rules for driving in marked lanes,” provides 

in division (A)(1) that “[w]henever any roadway has been divided into two or more 

clearly marked lanes for traffic, * * * [a] vehicle * * * shall be driven, as nearly as 

is practicable, entirely within a single lane or line of traffic and shall not be moved 

from such lane or line until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can 

be made with safety.” The statute has two separate components. R.C. 4511.33(A) 

establishes that clear markings on a roadway determine whether two or more lanes 

are present. And R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) then requires a vehicle to stay as nearly as 

possible within that lane unless the driver can determine that he can move from that 

lane safely. The road markings, as set forth in the MUTCD, define the bounds of 

the “clearly marked lanes” for the purposes of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1). 

{¶ 26} The lane of Old State Route 74 in which Turner was traveling when 

the trooper stopped him is marked by a single solid yellow longitudinal line; next 

to that line is a single broken yellow longitudinal line. On both sides of Old State 

Route 74, a single solid white longitudinal line—the fog line—is present. 

{¶ 27} As applied to these facts, the “clearly marked lanes for traffic” were 

set by the yellow center lines. The single solid yellow longitudinal line on Turner’s 

side of the road and the single broken yellow longitudinal line on the other side of 

the road established a two-lane, two-way roadway. A single solid white 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

10

longitudinal line may establish a lane for traffic flowing in the same direction, but 

based on the dash-cam footage and the testimony of the trooper, no single solid 

white longitudinal line was marking another lane flowing in the same direction. 

{¶ 28} Under the MUTCD, the only other use of a single solid white 

longitudinal line is to establish the right-hand edge of the roadway. The trooper 

plainly understood the markings on the pavement and that the single solid white 

longitudinal line on the right-hand side of the roadway marked the edge of the 

roadway because the trooper referred to the marking as the fog line. 

{¶ 29} As established in the MUTCD, a standard marking can “be used 

only to convey the meaning prescribed for that marking” in the MUTCD. 

(Boldface sic.) Id. at Section 3A.02.01. Therefore, because the single solid white 

longitudinal line as used on this two-lane, two-way roadway served only to mark 

the right-hand edge of the roadway and because that marking merely discourages 

or prohibits crossing it, not driving on it or touching it, Turner’s touching of the fog 

line was not a violation of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1). 

{¶ 30} It is the placement of traffic-control devices—the markings—that 

carry out the requirements of “sections 4511.01 to 4511.78 and 4511.99 of the 

Revised Code.” R.C. 4511.10. Roadway markings, therefore, serve to provide 

“guidance and information” to the motoring public as to what actions are permitted 

or prohibited on the roadway under sections R.C. 4511.01 to 4511.78 and 4511.99 

of the Revised Code. MUTCD at Section 3A.01.01. 

{¶ 31} Ohioans are expected to know the meaning of roadway markings 

contained in the MUTCD because the enforcement of certain Ohio traffic laws is 

tied to the meanings of the markings contained therein. Most significantly, R.C. 

4511.12(A) prohibits the driver of a vehicle from “disobey[ing] the instructions of 

any traffic control device placed in accordance with this chapter, unless at the time 

otherwise directed by a police officer.” (Emphasis added.) As defined in R.C. 

4511.01(QQ), traffic-control devices include markings. R.C. Chapter 4511 does 
January Term, 2020 

11 

not list the markings that drivers are expected to obey. Instead, the MUTCD 

describes the duties and permissive actions that the markings convey. 

{¶ 32} Other statutes rely on the MUTCD to flesh out their meanings. R.C. 

4511.17(A)(1) forbids “[k]nowingly” defacing, damaging, or improperly tampering 

with “any traffic control device,” and R.C. 4511.17(A)(2) prohibits “driv[ing] upon 

or over any freshly applied pavement marking material on the surface of a roadway 

while the marking [material] is in an undried condition and is marked by flags, 

markers, signs, or other devices intended to protect it.” (Emphasis added.) These 

statutes require knowledge of what constitutes a traffic-control device. 

{¶ 33} Certain permissive provisions of R.C. 4511.25—which requires 

vehicles to be driven on the right-hand side of the roadway in most circumstances—

rely on the meaning of traffic-control devices to inform drivers when they can travel 

on other than the right-hand side of the roadway. R.C. 4511.25(A)(5) requires 

travel on the right-hand side of the roadway unless “otherwise directed by a * * * 

traffic control device.” The statute does not describe those traffic-control devices—

that is left to the MUTCD. R.C. 4511.25(C) allows a vehicle to be driven left of 

the center line of a roadway having four or more lanes of traffic and providing for 

two-way movement of traffic “when authorized by official traffic-control devices 

designating certain lanes to the left of the center of the roadway for use by traffic 

not otherwise permitted to use the lanes.” R.C. 4511.25(A)(1) allows a vehicle to 

be driven on other than the right-hand side of the roadway when passing another 

vehicle proceeding in the same direction, but such a movement is limited by any 

traffic-control device prohibiting passing in that section of the roadway. See R.C. 

4511.12. 

{¶ 34} R.C. 4511.27 governs the overtaking and passing of vehicles 

proceeding in the same direction. That provision does not define or designate 

which roadways drivers may overtake or pass on. Overtaking and passing 

indicators are established by the traffic-control devices—the roadway markings. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

12

See MUTCD at Sections 3B.01, Yellow Center Line Pavement Markings and 

Warrants; 3B.02, No-Passing Zone Pavements Marking and Warrants; and 3B.04, 

White Lane Pavement Markings and Warrants. 

{¶ 35} Many roadway markings have special purposes, and disobeying 

them gives rise to different violations of Ohio’s traffic laws, depending on what 

they signify. The single solid white longitudinal line on the right-hand side of Old 

State Route 74 discourages or prohibits the crossing of that line but does not 

prohibit the mere touching of it. Because Turner did not cross the single solid white 

longitudinal line—the fog line—and driving on it or touching it is not prohibited 

under R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), no violation occurred.

{¶ 36} This interpretation of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) is consistent with the 

greater weight of authority in jurisdictions across the nation that touching the single 

solid white longitudinal line on the right-hand side of the roadway does not 

constitute a violation of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1). See Gee, “U Can’t Touch This” Fog 

Line: The Improper Use of A Fog Line Violation as a Pretext for Initiating an 

Unlawful Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure, 36 N.Ill.U.L.Rev. 1, 14 (2015) 

(the majority of jurisdictions hold that nominally encroaching upon traffic-control 

lines does not constitute a marked-lanes violation). See People v. Mueller, 2018 IL 

App (2d) 170863, 127 N.E.3d 861, ¶ 28 (officer did not have reasonable suspicion 

that defendant had violated the statute for improper lane usage when vehicle’s tires 

touched the fog line and yellow center line three times at night on curved road); 

United States v. Warfield, 727 Fed.Appx. 182, 186 (6th Cir.2018) (officer lacked 

probable cause to stop defendant’s vehicle, as merely touching a lane line is not a 

violation of Ohio’s marked-lanes statute); State v. Neal, 159 Idaho 439, 447, 362 

P.3d 514 (2015) (twice driving onto but not across fog line does not violate laneuse statute); United States v. Wendfeldt, 58 F.Supp.3d 1124, 1130 (D.Nev.2014) (a 

vehicle’s driving onto the fog line several times did not provide officer with 

reasonable suspicion to justify traffic stop for improper lane usage); United States 
January Term, 2020 

13 

v. Colin, 314 F.3d 439, 444 (9th Cir.2002) (based on the “ ‘totality of the 

circumstances,’ ” a vehicle’s touching fog line and the solid yellow line did not 

provide officer with reasonable suspicion to stop defendant’s vehicle, quoting 

United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002); 

Rowe v. State, 363 Md. 424, 441, 769 A.2d 879 (2001) (vehicle’s crossing and then 

touching the white line bordering the shoulder did not violate marked-lanes statute); 

State v. Cerny, 28 S.W.3d 796, 801 (Tex.App.2000) (marked-lanes statute not 

violated when vehicle touched the white shoulder line and wove somewhat within 

its own lane of traffic); Crooks v. State, 710 So.2d 1041, 1043 

(Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1998) (vehicle’s crossing fog line three times did not constitute 

violation of marked-lanes statute when there was no evidence that driver failed to 

ascertain that he could do so safely); and State v. Lafferty, 291 Mont. 157, 1998 

MT 247, 967 P.2d 363, ¶ 14, overruled in part on other grounds, State v. Flynn, 

359 Mont. 376, 2011 MT 48, 251 P.3d 143, ¶ 12 (crossing fog line twice and driving 

on it once did not violate marked-lanes statute, which applies only to changes 

between marked lanes). 

V. Conclusion

{¶ 37} We hold, based on the plain language of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), the

definitions set forth in R.C. 4511.01, and the statutory scheme as a whole, that the 

single solid white longitudinal line on the right-hand edge a roadway—the fog 

line—marks the edge of the roadway and that such a marking merely “discourages 

or prohibits” a driver from “crossing” it, not “driving on” or “touching” it. MUTCD 

Section 3A.06(B). 

{¶ 38} We accordingly answer the certified-conflict question, as modified, 

in the negative, reverse the judgment of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals, and 

remand this matter to that court to address the argument raised by the state of Ohio: 

whether the trooper’s reasonable mistake of law validated the stop. 

Judgment reversed 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

14

 and cause remanded. 

FRENCH, DEWINE, DONNELLY, and STEWART, JJ., concur. 

FISCHER, J., dissents, with an opinion joined by O’CONNOR, C.J. 

_________________ 

FISCHER, J., dissenting. 

{¶ 39} Because I would conclude that the plain language of R.C. 

4511.33(A) obviates the need to consult the Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic 

Control Devices (“MUTCD”) and dictates that in order for a vehicle to remain 

“within a single lane or line of traffic” on a roadway that is “clearly marked,” the 

driver cannot drive on those lane lines, I respectfully must dissent. I would hold 

that an officer has a reasonable and articulable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop 

of a vehicle for a marked-lanes violation under R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) when the officer 

observes the tires of a vehicle driving on but not across a marked lane line. 

I. Legal Analysis

{¶ 40} In a Billboard Hot 100 single recorded and released by his band in 

1980, Cleveland’s Michael Stanley sang, “Thank God for the man who put the 

white lines on the highway.” See John Soeder, Three decades after “Heartland,” 

Michael Stanley is alive and well in “Shadowland,” (Jan. 12, 2019), 

https://www.cleveland.com/popmusic/2009/12/three_decades_after_heartland.ht

ml (accessed Oct. 1, 2020) [https://perma.cc/A5CG-8TV7]; Michael Stanley, The 

80’s, http://www.michaelstanley.com/THE_80S.html (accessed Oct. 1, 2020) 

[https://perma.cc/R6FG-M7W3]; Billboard, The Hot 100 Chart: Week of April 11, 

1981, https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1981-04-11 (accessed Oct. 1, 

2020) [https://perma.cc/G77P-9H5Z]. This case is not about the Ohioans who paint 

the white lines on the state’s roadways, but rather the motorists who drive on those 

white lines. Specifically, the issue before the court in this certified conflict is 

whether an officer has a reasonable and articulable suspicion to conduct a traffic 
January Term, 2020 

15 

stop for a R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) marked-lanes violation when the officer observes the 

tires of a vehicle driving on but not across a marked lane line. 

A. Reasonable suspicion versus probable cause 

{¶ 41} I begin my analysis by noting a procedural quirk in this case. In his 

motion to suppress, appellant, Ryan Turner, argued that the State Highway Patrol 

Trooper did not have probable cause or a reasonable and articulable suspicion to 

initiate the traffic stop. In granting Turner’s motion to suppress, the trial court 

concluded that “a reasonably prudent officer who is familiar with [R.C.] 

4511.33(A)(1) would not believe that he had probable cause to stop the defendant’s 

vehicle under these circumstances.” On appeal, the state raised a single assignment 

of error: “The trial court erred in granting appellee’s motion to suppress, as the 

trooper had reasonable, articulable suspicion to believe appellee had committed a 

marked lanes violation under Section 4511.33(A)(1).” 2019-Ohio-3950, 145 

N.E.3d 985, ¶ 8. The Twelfth District Court of Appeals did not address whether 

probable cause existed, but rather resolved the appeal by reversing based upon its 

conclusion that there was “reasonable and articulable suspicion for the traffic stop.” 

Id. at ¶ 22. I acknowledge that probable cause and reasonable and articulable 

suspicion are distinct concepts. See State v. Mays, 119 Ohio St.3d 406, 2008-Ohio4539, 894 N.E.2d 1204, ¶ 23. Given the procedural posture of this case, the 

substance of the Twelfth District’s decision, and the limited scope of the certifiedconflict question that we accepted for review, my analysis is therefore confined to 

whether reasonable and articulable suspicion existed. 

B. Legal background 

{¶ 42} “[T]he permissibility of a particular law enforcement practice is 

judged by balancing its intrusion on the individual’s Fourth Amendment interests 

against its promotion of legitimate governmental interests.” Delaware v. Prouse, 

440 U.S. 648, 654, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979). “To justify a particular 

intrusion, the officer must demonstrate ‘specific and articulable facts which, taken 
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together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that 

intrusion.’ ” State v. Batchili, 113 Ohio St.3d 403, 2007-Ohio-2204, 865 N.E.2d 

1282, ¶ 11, quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 

(1968). “[I]f an officer’s decision to stop a motorist for a criminal violation, 

including a traffic violation, is prompted by reasonable and articulable suspicion 

considering all the circumstances, then the stop is constitutionally valid.” Mays at 

¶ 8. 

{¶ 43} R.C. 4511.33(A), which makes it a traffic violation to drive outside 

a lane, provides: 

Whenever any roadway has been divided into two or more 

clearly marked lanes for traffic, or wherever within municipal 

corporations traffic is lawfully moving in two or more substantially 

continuous lines in the same direction, the following rules apply: 

(1) A vehicle or trackless trolley shall be driven, as nearly as 

is practicable, entirely within a single lane or line of traffic and shall 

not be moved from such lane or line until the driver has first 

ascertained that such movement can be made with safety. 

{¶ 44} This court most recently analyzed R.C. 4511.33(A) in Mays. In that 

case, the court was presented with a conflict question raising the issue whether the 

Constitution permits a police officer to stop a motorist whom he or she witnesses 

cross a right white edge line without further evidence of erratic driving. 119 Ohio 

St.3d 406, 2008-Ohio-4539, 894 N.E.2d 1204, at ¶ 1. This court held that an officer 

may do so. Id.

{¶ 45} In Mays, the only evidence of erratic driving witnessed by the officer

was the defendant’s crossing of the right fog line twice by approximately one tire 

width. Id. at ¶ 2. This court rejected Mays’s argument that absolute observance of 
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17 

lane markings is not required by R.C. 4511.33(A) and that driving across the white 

edge line twice does not constitute a violation of the statute. Id. at ¶ 15-16. This 

court stated, “When an officer observes a vehicle driving back-and-forth across an 

edge line, the officer has a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the driver has 

violated R.C. 4511.33.” Id. at ¶ 16. 

{¶ 46} Thus, Mays stands for the proposition that an officer has a reasonable 

and articulable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop of a motor vehicle for a markedlanes violation under R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) when the officer observes the tires cross

a marked lane line. Mays, however, did not address the question before the court 

here: Does a reasonable and articulable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop exist 

when the officer observes the tires of a vehicle drive on a marked lane line? 

C. Reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop exists when an officer observes 

a vehicle’s tires touch a lane line 

{¶ 47} When we construe a statute, legislative intent is our primary concern. 

State v. Marcum, 146 Ohio St.3d 516, 2016-Ohio-1002, 59 N.E.3d 1231, ¶ 8. To 

determine legislative intent, we first look to the plain language of the statute, and if 

that language is unambiguous and definite, we apply it as written. Summerville v. 

Forest Park, 128 Ohio St.3d 221, 2010-Ohio-6280, 943 N.E.2d 522, ¶ 18, citing 

Hubbell v. Xenia, 115 Ohio St.3d 77, 2007-Ohio-4839, 873 N.E.2d 878, ¶ 11. 

{¶ 48} “To discern legislative intent, we read words and phrases in context 

and construe them in accordance with rules of grammar and common usage.” 

Mahoning Edn. Assn. of Dev. Disabilities v. State Emp. Relations Bd., 137 Ohio 

St.3d 257, 2013-Ohio-4654, 998 N.E.2d 1124, ¶ 15. “ ‘[S]ignificance and effect 

should, if possible, be accorded to every word, phrase, sentence and part of an 

act.’ ” Weaver v. Edwin Shaw Hosp., 104 Ohio St.3d 390, 2004-Ohio-6549, 819 

N.E.2d 1079, ¶ 13, quoting Wachendorf v. Shaver, 149 Ohio St. 231, 78 N.E.2d 

370 (1948), paragraph five of the syllabus. 
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{¶ 49} The Revised Code does not define “lane.” Nor, for purposes of R.C. 

4511.33(A)(1), does it distinguish among various types of lane lines (e.g., a solid 

yellow line, a solid white line, a dashed white line). Thus, the Revised Code does 

not specify what it means for a driver to fail to drive “entirely within a single lane 

or line of traffic.” Despite the lack of statutory definitions, I conclude that this case 

can be resolved by looking solely to the plain language of the statute. 

{¶ 50} R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) provides that when a roadway has been “divided 

into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic” or when traffic within a municipal 

corporation “lawfully mov[es] in two or more substantially continuous lines in the 

same direction,” a vehicle on the roadway “shall be driven, as nearly as is 

practicable, entirely within a single lane or line of traffic.”

{¶ 51} The statute presupposes a few things. First, there is a single

roadway. Second, there are “clearly marked” lanes (or lines of traffic) on that single 

roadway. Third, the vehicle must be driven, as nearly as practicable, within one of 

those lanes (or lines of traffic). 

{¶ 52} According to the clear language of the statute, then, each lane is a 

distinct, discrete unit. There can be no overlapping of lanes, because those lanes 

must be “clearly marked.” The interpretation set forth by Turner (and the majority 

of the appellate districts) ignores this fact, because any other interpretation 

illogically treats a lane line as a space that simultaneously exists in multiple lanes, 

rendering the lanes not “clearly marked.” Instead, a part of the roadway can belong 

to multiple lanes, making unclear where one lane ends and another starts and who 

might have the right-of-way. 

{¶ 53} To avoid this flawed interpretation, we must treat “entirely within a 

single lane or line of traffic” as meaning that a driver who drives on the lines that 

establish the lane boundaries drives outside the lane or line of traffic. Thus, to 

honor the language of R.C. 4511.33(A), I would adopt the Twelfth District’s 

reading of the statute and that advocated by the state and conclude that in order to 
January Term, 2020 

19 

drive “entirely within a single lane or line of traffic,” a driver must stay inside the 

inner edges of the lane lines. In other words, a driver may not drive on the lane 

lines. 

{¶ 54} I note again that while lines marking the boundaries between lanes 

and the lines marking the edge of a roadway serve different functions, the relevant 

statute, R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), unambiguously makes no distinction among the 

various types of roadway markings. Because the statute makes no such distinction, 

the statute applies uniformly to each type of lane line. Thus, for example, a driver 

drives outside the lane or line of traffic when the vehicle’s tires touch the right fog 

line or the center line separating two directions of traffic. Treating the various types 

of lane lines uniformly not only mirrors the statute, which does not make any 

distinctions, but also provides a uniform, common-sense rule: in order to stay 

“entirely within a single lane or line of traffic,” R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), a vehicle’s 

tires cannot touch a lane line, regardless of the type of lane line. 

{¶ 55} I further note that I would not find the “as nearly as is practicable” 

language of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) to compel any different result. As this court 

explained in Mays, “[t]he phrase ‘as nearly as is practicable’ does not give the driver 

the option to remain within the lane markings; rather, the phrase requires the driver 

to remain within the lane markings unless the driver cannot reasonably avoid 

straying.” 119 Ohio St.3d 406, 2008-Ohio-4539, 894 N.E.2d 1204, at ¶ 18, quoting 

R.C. 4511.33(A)(1). Rather than being a factor in the analysis whether an officer 

had reasonable suspicion, the “as nearly as is practicable” language provides a 

driver with a legal defense to a charge of driving outside the lane: 

R.C. 4511.33 does provide for certain circumstances in 

which a driver can cross a lane line without violating the statute. 

However, the question of whether appellant might have a possible 

defense to a charge of violating R.C. 4511.33 is irrelevant in our 
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analysis of whether an officer has a reasonable and articulable

suspicion to initiate a traffic stop. An officer is not required to 

determine whether someone who has been observed committing a 

crime might have a legal defense to the charge. 

Id. at ¶ 17. Thus, I conclude that the “as nearly as is practicable” language of R.C. 

4511.33(A)(1) does not factor into our analysis in this case. 

D. The MUTCD is not relevant to the analysis of this case 

{¶ 56} Because I reach this conclusion based on the plain language of the 

statute, I, under our precedents, must avoid consulting any administrative rules or 

regulations, such as the MUTCD. If a statute’s meaning is plain, we do not consider 

an administrative agency’s interpretation or implementation of that statute. See 

State ex rel. Morris v. Indus. Comm., 134 Ohio St. 380, 381-382, 17 N.E.2d 741 

(1938); In re Application of Black Fork Wind Energy, L.L.C., 156 Ohio St.3d 181, 

2018-Ohio-5206, 124 N.E.3d 787, ¶ 21. Indeed, as the Supreme Court of the United 

States has succinctly put it, “When the words of a statute are unambiguous, then, 

this first canon is also the last: ‘judicial inquiry is complete.’ ” Connecticut Natl. 

Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 254, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992), 

quoting Rubin v. United States, 449 U.S. 424, 430, 101 S.Ct. 698, 66 L.Ed.2d 633 

(1981). 

{¶ 57} It is significant that this “first canon” requires us to end the judicial 

inquiry when the words of the statute are unambiguous. This canon does not 

provide that the judicial inquiry ends when the words of the statute, considered in 

light of administrative rules or regulations adopted by an executive administrative 

agency, are unambiguous. As this court has explained, it is improper for an 

administrative agency to alter the meaning of a statute if that statute is 

unambiguous. See In re VHA Diagnostic Servs., Inc., 65 Ohio St.3d 210, 214, 602 

N.E.2d 647 (1992) (explaining, in construing a particular statute, that “[t]he words 
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21 

‘after receiving’ are clear and unambiguous. It is improper for the administrative 

agency to change the words ‘after receiving’ to, in effect, ‘after determining it has 

received’ ”). It follows that when a statue is unambiguous, our inquiry should end, 

and we should not look to sources outside that statute to determine what the statute 

means. 

{¶ 58} I acknowledge that R.C. 4511.09 grants ODOT authority to issue the 

MUTCD and that R.C. 4511.10 grants ODOT authority to place and maintain 

traffic-control devices in conformity with the MUTCD as necessary to carry out the 

requirements of R.C. 4511.33. But the MUTCD cannot as a matter of law alter 

unambiguous language of the Revised Code, and the General Assembly has not 

enacted the portions of the MUTCD cited in the majority opinion and incorporated 

those provisions into the Revised Code. 

{¶ 59} If the language of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) had been found ambiguous 

either in the analysis of the majority opinion or in my own analysis, then it would 

have been appropriate to consult the MUTCD to resolve that ambiguity. Based on 

my analysis, however, (and as noted in the majority opinion) the statutory language 

is plain and unambiguous. Having concluded that the statute’s meaning is plain, I 

conclude that it is unnecessary for this court to consult any sources beyond R.C. 

4511.33(A)(1) to resolve this appeal. 

II. Conclusion

{¶ 60} Based on the plain language of R.C. 4511.33(A)(1), I respectfully 

dissent from the majority decision and would hold that an officer has reasonable 

and articulable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop of a motor vehicle for a markedlanes violation under R.C. 4511.33(A)(1) when the officer observes the tires of a 

vehicle driving on but not across a marked lane line. I would accordingly answer 

the certified-conflict question in the affirmative and affirm the judgment of the 

Twelfth District Court of Appeals. 

O’CONNOR, C.J., concurs in the foregoing opinion. 
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_________________ 

 D. Vincent Faris, Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney, and Nick Horton, 

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. 

 Faris & Faris, L.L.C., and Zachary F. Farris, for appellant. 

 Paul W. Flowers Co., L.P.A., and Louis E. Grube, urging reversal for 

amicus curiae Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 

 Dave Yost, Attorney General, Benjamin M. Flowers, Solicitor General, and 

Stephen P. Carney, Deputy Solicitor General, urging affirmance for amicus curiae 

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. 

_________________