Ohio Pedestrian Safety Law (HB 714) Introduced in House

With winter giving way to spring across Ohio, you can expect to see more walkers, joggers, and others on foot heading outside and sharing the roadways. And if state lawmakers have their way, drivers could soon see stronger penalties for seriously injuring pedestrians on Ohio’s streets. 

The proposed Ohio pedestrian safety law hits close to home following a string of recent pedestrian accidents in our community. It also comes amid a period of increasing pedestrian crashes and fatalities, both nationwide and in Ohio. 

While the bill would increase criminal penalties for drivers who harm pedestrians, it would not change the civil process. Injured pedestrians would still need to file a pedestrian accident lawsuit to recover damages like medical bills and lost wages. 

Watch Your Step: Pedestrian Accidents and Injuries on the Rise

Every year, thousands of Ohio pedestrians are struck by motor vehicles, and hundreds are killed.

Data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol shows more than 400 pedestrian-related crashes through the first three months of 2026, including dozens of fatalities and serious injuries. Several pedestrian crashes have occurred in and around Zanesville and Columbus since the start of the year:

• A 72-year-old woman was seriously injured after being struck by a vehicle on State Route 60 in Muskingum County. 
• A 53-year-old man was struck and killed while walking in the left lane of I-70 in Muskingum County. 
• An 81-year-old pedestrian was hit and killed while crossing a roadway on the northeast side of Columbus.
• A pedestrian was fatally injured on Interstate 270 on Columbus’ west side in February near the I-70 interchange.
• A pedestrian died following a hit-and-run crash near Morse Road and Sharon Avenue in north Columbus in January.

Pedestrian fatalities in Ohio have been trending upward since 2009, with 150 deaths reported in 2023, following a peak of 176 in 2021. 

Pedestrian crashes account for only about 1% of total traffic incidents, but they make up roughly 12–13% of all traffic fatalities. 

More than 6 in 10 people walk for purposes such as transportation, exercise, and relaxation, according to the CDC, which has tracked a sharp increase in U.S. pedestrian deaths and overall traffic deaths during the last several years. 

In 2022, U.S. pedestrian deaths reached their highest number in 41 years. 

Public officials have responded with measures that include protected walkways, safer crossings, improved lighting, and speed management policies. 

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has several programs that provide funding for pedestrian safety and has invested record levels to improve pedestrian safety, the agency says. 

Even with these efforts, pedestrian risks remain—and some state lawmakers are now looking to address the issue from a different angle.

How HB 714 Would Strengthen Pedestrian Safety Laws

Reps. Mike Odioso (R–Green Township) and Mark Sigrist (D–Grove City) have introduced bipartisan legislation that would revise Ohio law to better protect pedestrians.

Under current law, failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk is typically a minor misdemeanor that carries no jail time and only a minimal fine. HB 714 would change that. If enacted, the bill would stop treating pedestrian right-of-way violations as “ticket-level” offenses and:

• Elevate certain violations to higher-level misdemeanors 
• Allow for jail time in some cases
• Impose increasingly severe penalties on repeat offenders

HB 714 would also create stronger consequences when a pedestrian is seriously injured—not just killed—shifting the law away from “death-triggered” penalties and toward recognizing life-altering injuries as serious criminal violations. 

• Drivers who negligently cause serious physical harm could face vehicular assault charges
• Those charges can rise to a felony, depending on the circumstances 
• Prior offenses, reckless behavior, or driving under suspension can enhance the charge

The bill also builds in escalation for drivers with a risky track record, turning the law into more than a one-off punishment by increasing penalties if the driver: 

• Was driving under a suspended license 
• Has prior convictions for traffic-related assault, homicide, or similar offenses 
• Has a history of dangerous driving violations (such as OVI)

HB 714 further expands and clarifies pedestrian right-of-way rules, tightening ambiguity around when drivers must yield and eliminating arguments like, “They weren’t directly in my lane yet.”

• Drivers must yield to pedestrians lawfully in a crosswalk 
• That duty applies across multiple lanes, including adjacent and turning lanes 

And the consequences for more serious violations, especially those involving injury, would not be limited to fines or criminal charges. They could affect a person’s ability to drive at all.

• Courts must impose driver’s license suspensions 
• The length and severity increase with prior offenses

Some of the bill’s changes were inspired by a Grove City resident who was struck at an intersection while using a wheelchair in September 2023 and hospitalized for two months, according to the Times Recorder. The driver faced only a minor misdemeanor. 

“It just seemed like it should be more than a $150 fine,” said Sigrist, a former Grove City councilman who previously worked to increase local penalties and is now seeking to expand those protections statewide. 

“This bill gives a little more power to the pedestrians,” Odioso said. “If a person’s legally in a crosswalk, just chill out, drivers.”

A press release from the bill’s sponsors notes that HB 714 maintains Ohio’s existing felony penalties and mandatory prison terms for vehicular assault involving impaired or reckless driving. 

How Ohio Pedestrian Safety Law HB 714 Could Affect Injury Cases

Stronger criminal penalties may change how pedestrian accidents are enforced, but they do not fundamentally change how pedestrian injury claims work. For those on foot who are hurt in a crash, the process of recovering compensation remains mostly the same.

A personal injury claim is still built on negligence, which means showing a driver failed to act reasonably under the circumstances—and that failure caused the injury. The proposed law does not eliminate that burden or guarantee recovery.

What it could do is shape how certain cases are evaluated and argued.

• Clearer right-of-way rules: More defined yielding requirements may make it easier to establish fault in crosswalk-related crashes.
• Stronger statutory violations: A driver’s failure to yield under clearer rules can support a negligence argument.
• More serious enforcement: Elevated penalties may influence how seriously these incidents are treated from the outset.

However, many of the challenges in pedestrian injury cases would remain:

• Disputed fault: Drivers may argue that a pedestrian stepped into traffic unexpectedly or was outside a crosswalk.
• Comparative negligence: Even partial fault assigned to a pedestrian can reduce recovery.
• Insurance disputes: Carriers may contest liability, injuries, or the value of a claim.
• Hit-and-run or uninsured drivers: Recovery can become more complicated when coverage is limited or unclear.

So while the proposed law may strengthen protections on paper, pedestrian injury cases will continue to depend on the specific facts, available evidence, and how a claim is handled.

Learn More: What Damages Can You Claim After a Pedestrian Accident in Ohio?

Helping You Get to the Other Side

Efforts to build more walkable communities and reduce reliance on cars often do not account for the risks pedestrians face when sharing the road with larger vehicles.

A leisurely walk can turn into a long and difficult recovery process when traffic lanes—and legal lines—are crossed. HB 714 would go a long way toward improving pedestrian safety, but it’s not a substitute for legal advice after a pedestrian accident.