Ohio Administrative Code › Title 5537 - Turnpike Commission › Chapter 5537-1 - Definitions › Section 5537-1-01 - Definitions

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) "Commission"
			 means the Ohio turnpike and infrastructure commission created by section
			 5537.02 of the Revised
			 Code, and also includes such directors,
			 officers and employees of the commission as may act for or in the place of the
			 commission.
(B) "Turnpike" means
			 all traffic lanes, acceleration lanes, deceleration lanes, shoulders, medial
			 strip, bridges, overpasses, underpasses, interchanges, approaches, entrance and
			 exit ramps, access roads, toll plazas, service plazas, maintenance areas,
			 parking areas and any and all other area or areas adjacent thereto under the
			 control or jurisdiction of the commission and comprising a part of Ohio
			 turnpike project No. 1.
(C)
			 "Traffic lanes" are the continuous traffic lanes (each for a single line of
			 vehicles) extending between the eastern and western termini of the turnpike.
			 The westbound and eastbound traffic lanes are separated by a medial strip. The
			 lanes immediately adjacent to the medial strip are denominated "inner" lanes.
			 The lanes immediately adjacent to and beyond the innerlanes are
			 denominated "outer" lanes, except where three lanes are provided for the same
			 direction of travel, in which case the lanes immediately adjacent to and beyond
			 the inner lanes are denominated "center" lanes and the lanes immediately
			 adjacent to and beyond the center lanes are denominated "outer"
			 lanes.
(D) "Deceleration lanes" and
			 "acceleration lanes" are speed-change lanes provided for vehicles entering and
			 leaving service plazas or interchanges, respectively, and are adjacent to the
			 outer traffic lanes.
(E)
			 "Shoulders" are the paved strips adjoining the traffic lanes, acceleration and
			 deceleration lanes, and interchange ramps.
(F) "Medial strip" means the area, including
			 paved shoulders and grassed strip or median barrier separating traffic lanes
			 for traffic moving in opposite directions.
(G) "Vehicle" means every device in, upon, or
			 by which any person or property may be transported or drawn upon a highway
			 , with exceptions as defined in division (A) of section
			 4511.01 of the Revised
			 Code.
(H) "Motor vehicle"
			 means every vehicle self-propelled or drawn by power
			 other than muscular power or power collected from overhead electric trolley
			 wires, with exceptions as defined in division (B) of section
			 4511.01 of the Revised
			 Code.
(I)
								"Passenger vehicle" means every motor vehicle with
			 motive power, designed for carrying ten persons or less, measuring under seven
			 feet six inches in height as measured over the first two axles, and having only
			 two axles.
(J) "Motorcycle" means
			 every motor vehicle other than a tractor, motor-driven
			 cycle, motor scooter, autocycle, cab-enclosed motorcycle, motorized bicycle, or
			 moped, which has a seat or saddle for the
			 use of the operator and is constructed to travel on not more than three wheels
			 in contact with the ground, including, but not limited to vehicles known as
			 "motorized bicycle," "motor scooter" or "moped."
(K) "Emergency vehicle"
			 means ambulance, garage-service vehicle, garage towing and wrecking trucks,
			 fire-department, and police vehicles responding to emergency calls and when
			 identified as such as required by law, and emergency
			 vehicles defined in division (D) of section
			 4511.01 of the Revised
			 Code.
(L) "Bicycle" means a
			 vehicle solely propelled by human power which
			 has a seat or saddle for the use of the operator
			 and is constructed to travel on two or more
			 wheels in contact with the ground
								.
(M)
			 "Truck" means every motor vehicle, except trailers and semi-trailers, designed
			 and used to carry property.
(N) "Trailer" means
			 every vehicle designed or used for carrying persons or property wholly on its
			 own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle,
			 including vehicles defined in division (M) of section
			 4511.01 of the Revised
			 Code.
(O) "Semi-trailer"
			 means every vehicle designed or used for carrying persons or property with
			 another and separate motor vehicle so that in operation a part of its own
			 weight or that of its load, or both, rests upon and is carried by
			 such other separate
								 vehicle.
(P) "Commercial
			 tractor" means every motor vehicle having motive power and designed or used for
			 drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry any
			 load
			 thereon except a part of the weight of a semi-trailer, or of its load, or
			 both.
(Q) "Bus" means every
			 motor vehicle designed for carrying more than nine passengers and used for the
			 transportation of persons.
(R) "Pedestrian" means
			 any natural person afoot. "Pedestrian" includes a
			 personal delivery device as defined in section
			 4511.513 of the Revised Code
			 unless the context clearly suggests otherwise.
(S) "Operator" means
			 every person who drives, operates, or is in actual physical control of a motor
			 vehicle.
(T) "Police officer"
			 means an officer of the Ohio state highway patrol and every person authorized
			 to direct, control, or regulate traffic, or to make arrests for violations of
			 traffic regulations, on the turnpike.
(U)
			 "Person" means every natural person, firm, partnership, association, limited
			 liability company, corporation, trust, estate or legal entity.
(V) "Axle" means the common axis of rotation
			 of one or more wheels, whether power driven or freely rotating, and whether in
			 one or more segments and regardless of the number of wheels carried
			 thereon.
(W) "Axle load" means the
			 gross weight of vehicle and load imposed by any axle upon the road
			 surface.
(X) "Gross weight" means
			 the weight of a vehicle plus the weight of any load thereon.
(Y) "Combined axle load" means the gross
			 weight of vehicle and load imposed by any two tandem axles upon the road
			 surface.
(Z) "Aircraft" means any
			 contrivance, now known or hereafter invented, used or designed for navigation
			 of or flight in the air, excepting a parachute or other contrivance for such
			 navigation used exclusively as safety equipment.
(AA)
								"Toll collection
			 system" means the hardware and software utilized by the commission to determine
			 and collect the tolls assessed to motor vehicles.
(BB)
			 "Automobile transporter" means any vehicle combination designed and used
			 expressly for the transport of assembled motor vehicles.
(CC)
			 "CFR" means the Code of Federal
			 Regulations.
(DD) "Heavy commercial
			 vehicle" means a motor vehicle in excess of two and one-half tons used for
			 commercial purposes such as transportation of goods and wares.
(EE)
			 "License" means the whole or part of any commission permit, certificate,
			 approval, registration or similar form of permission required by Ohio turnpike
			 commission rules.
(FF) "Long combination
			 vehicles" means semi-trailers with triple trailer or long double trailer
			 combinations in excess of ninety feet in length.
(GG) "Service plazas"
			 means service facilities as defined in section
			 5537.01 of the Revised
			 Code.
(HH)
								"Vehicle class" means
			 the designation assigned to vehicles, as may be determined by the commission
			 based upon vehicle characteristics such as the number of vehicle axles, height,
			 weight, shape, or any other characteristic as deemed appropriate by the
			 commission, or any combination thereof.
(II)
								" Electronic
			 tolling transponder" means the device issued by participating tolling
			 authorities of the E-ZPass group and
			 utilized by turnpike customers to pay their tolls.
(JJ)
								"Electronic
			 monitoring system" means an imaging system that uses video or still image
			 formats to record license plate images of vehicles in or around a toll
			 assessment point for purposes of facilitating toll collections and enforcement
			 of unpaid tolls.
(KK)
								"Toll assessment point" means a location on the
			 turnpike equipped with a toll collection system that detects the presence of a
			 vehicle and identifies the vehicle class in order to assess a toll for the use
			 of the turnpike.
(LL)
								
								"Electronic toll account" is the
			 account associated with the electronic tolling transponder which shall contain
			 prepaid funds to be used for the payment of tolls.
(MM)
								"Closed ticket
			 system" is the portion of the turnpike within which all movements are tolled by
			 vehicle class between entry and exit tolling points.
(NN)
								"Barrier system"
			 is the portion of the turnpike within which all movements are tolled by vehicle
			 class regardless of distance traveled on the turnpike.
(OO)
								"Unpaid toll"
			 means a toll transaction for travel on the turnpike that is not paid at the
			 time of travel nor associated with any E-ZPass account.
(PP)
								"Hearing
			 officer" means an Ohio-licensed practitioner of law assigned to adjudicate
			 cases where customers contest their unpaid toll notices, subsequent delinquent
			 notices, or final notices.
(QQ)
								"E-ZPass lanes"
			 are designated traffic lanes in which motor vehicles equipped with valid
			 electronic tolling transponders may travel on the turnpike at posted speed
			 limits.
(RR)
								"Video toll" is the toll schedule rate applied to an
			 E-ZPass customer who travels through an E-ZPass only lane and an E-ZPass
			 transponder is not detected, but the customer's license plate is registered to
			 the customer's E-ZPass account.