“Every parent expects that when their child steps into a crosswalk on the way to school, the adults tasked with protecting them have clear authority and that drivers must obey it,” Young said.
Harassing and/or failing to obey a school crossing guard could result in a first-degree misdemeanor charge, as well as doubled fines if the offense took place in a school zone during the time when the school zone speed limit was in effect.
The legislation was proposed partly in response to WHIO, Cox Media Group and the Associated Press finding more than 225 crossing guard accidents had taken place across the U.S. over the last decade with more 70% in which the alleged perpetrator received only a traffic ticket or no citation.
In addition, White cited the “near misses” when a crossing guard is almost struck.
“There are thousands of these going on every day across Ohio, because in my own community of Kettering, the crossing guards there have done a concerted effort to document 574 near misses last year,” White said.
In regard to when an accident occurs, separate legislation under HB 203 — introduced by State Reps. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., and Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp. — would do the following:
- Increase the penalties for vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault that involve speeding or the commission of a traffic offense in an active school zone.
- Double the fine for certain traffic offenses that occur in an active school zone.
- Establish additional requirements for driver’s license reinstatement that apply to an offender who committed vehicular homicide or assault in an active school zone, including completion of a remedial driving course.
“Last year, Kettering had several pedestrian strikes in a short amount of time, along with several near hits of crossing guards in the school zones, which became a concern for both the city and the schools,” Kettering Police Chief Christopher Protsman said during a press conference Tuesday in support of HB 690.
In 2025, Kettering had eight crashes involving a pedestrian in a school zone and the driver was found to be at fault in just two of them, according to the Kettering Police Department.
Citywide, there were 19 crashes in Kettering last year involving a pedestrian, bicyclist and/or person on a scooter, according to police.
This is slightly up from the total 17 of those kinds of collisions in 2024 but still down from the high of 27 similar collisions in 2022, according to police.
Kettering city and schools established the Cross Safe Kettering initiative to instruct pedestrians on how to be extra careful when crossing busy roads and intersections when on the way to and from school, Protsman said.
“This bill goes hand-in-hand with this initiative because this bill holds the drivers responsible for their actions. It gives officers another tool to ensure that drivers are held accountable for what they’re doing, and it ensures the safety of pedestrians, both crossing guards and our children,” Protsman said.
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