Ohio's new law aimed at 'hooning' takes effect

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio officially passed House Bill 56, and the new law aimed at curbing reckless driving and “hooning” is now in effect.

Hooning, according to the dictionary, is a term that originated in Australia and New Zealand and is used to describe dangerous vehicular stunts like burnouts, donuts, and illegal street racing. In Ohio, the anti-hooning law covers street takeovers, stunt driving, evading police, and police chase policies, and it toughens penalties for those involved.

The legislation comes as central Ohio communities have expressed mounting frustration over hazardous driving practices and loud traffic disturbances. A recent post on Nextdoor sparked a significant discussion about reckless driving and traffic concerns in Columbus, pointing to activity on highways like State Route 315, Interstate 71, I-670, and I-270. The original poster expressed frustration with speeding drivers, aggressive lane changes, and general disregard for traffic laws, citing unsafe conditions for families and daily accidents.

“I see cars every day with no plates, broken headlight and taillights, bumper held on with who knows what, kids not improper car seats or wearing restraining belts … and don’t even get me started on the texting and driving,” the poster added. “It’s becoming ridiculous. They’re [sic] at least 1-2 accidents on these roads every day that causes hours of delay. It’s got to stop.”

"Yesterday driving home on 70, I had 2 cars racing each other," one commenter wrote. "Weaving in and out of traffic. They came so close to hitting a semi. ... I literally try to find any backroads to avoid the highways in Columbus."

The law increases penalties for stunt driving and street racing, classifying them as first-degree misdemeanors punishable by license suspensions of up to three years and hefty fines. It also allows for the seizure of vehicles involved in these activities. Those who “render assistance” in such events can now face the same charges as participants.

“You have situations where communities have several hundred people gathering at intersections, and multiple cars doing very dangerous stunt driving in the center of major intersections, and then all of the sudden multiple parties fleeing police, people are getting hurt, lives are being lost, property damaged,” said Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering), who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Phil Plummer (R-Dayton).

The law also makes fleeing from the police a fourth-degree felony, up from a first-degree misdemeanor. 

“Typically, fifth-degree felons don’t go to prison — they get probation — so we try to take it to fourth-degree, where we may get some prison time out of the judge,” Plummer said. “We've got to draw the line in the sand and tell these people, if you run from the police and put people at risk, we’re going to hold you accountable. There’s going to be a consequence.”  

In addition to the new Ohio law, the Columbus City Council recently amended local ordinances to combat street racing and stunt driving. City Attorney Zach Klein emphasized the life-threatening nature of these activities, noting that reckless driving incidents often escalate to violence or result in severe accidents.

“You could lose control of the vehicle at any moment,” Klein said. “You could run over a kid playing at a playground. It really does threaten public safety from a vehicle standpoint. But unfortunately, we’ve also seen a lot of these street takeovers especially escalate to gun violence.”

For residents who want to report instances of dangerous driving in Columbus, Sgt. Joe Albert of Columbus police offered in a previous story that people should call the nonemergency number, 614-645-4545, when “racing is actively taking place.” He also suggested calling 311 to make a complaint “with as much information as possible (hours it is occurring, days of the week, etc.),” which would “alert the officers who work in the area to look out for it.