Although cities like Cincinnati enact safety laws that affect both drivers and pedestrians, the State of Ohio establishes the legal framework for cities to regulate behavior on state roads and highways.
Pedestrian Laws
Pedestrians are not permitted to suddenly walk off a curb, sidewalk, or another safe place into the path of an oncoming motor vehicle. Ohio requires pedestrians to yield the right of way at a crosswalk to passing cars. This law differs from the laws concerning the right of way that regulate pedestrian behavior in other states.
Ohio law requires pedestrians to walk on the right half of sidewalks and crosswalks. This is a particularly important law because cyclists sometimes do not have access to a bike path. If a pedestrian does not have access to a sidewalk, the pedestrian is allowed to walk along a road as long as the pedestrian stays as far away from a road as possible.
Pedestrians walking along a two-way road must walk on the left side of the road to see oncoming traffic. Ohio prohibits pedestrians from crossing a street unless they are crossing at a marked crosswalk or an intersection with traffic signals. Diagonal crossing at an intersection is strictly forbidden by Ohio pedestrians laws.
Driver Laws
Any driver who departs from an alley, building, driveway, or private road must stop the vehicle before traveling over a sidewalk or marked crosswalk. Ohio drivers must yield the right of way to any pedestrian who walks on a sidewalk. When a driver stops at a sidewalk or marked crosswalk, another driver is not permitted to pass the stopped motor vehicle until a pedestrian has cleared the immediate area.
Ohio drivers must obey all traffic laws passed at both the state and local levels including speed limits and signaling requirements.