When can a police officer make a stop for a marked lanes violation?

In State v. Houck, 2011-Ohio-6359, Ohio’s Fifth Appellate District considered the legal standards required to stop a person for a marked lanes violation. See O.R.C. 4511.33

“In Ohio, when a driver commits only a de minimis marked-lanes violation, there must be some other evidence to suggest impairment before an officer is justified in stopping the vehicle. See State v. Gullett (1992), 78 Ohio App.3d 138, 145, 604 N.E.2d 176, 180–181. In Gullett, the Fourth District Court of Appeals concluded that the mere crossing of an edge line on two occasions did not constitutionally justify the stop. Similarly, this court has held that where there is no evidence of erratic driving, ‘other than what can be considered as insubstantial drifts across the lines,’ there is not sufficient evidence to justify an investigative stop. State v. Drogi (1994), 96 Ohio App.3d 466, 469, 645 N.E.2d 153, 155. However, as discussed above, under certain circumstances, an incident or incidents of crossing lines in the road may give a police officer reasonable suspicion to stop a vehicle, depending on those factors that indicate the severity and extent of such conduct. Id.; State v. Johnson, 105 Ohio App.3d at 40, 663 N.E.2d at 677.”

If you are arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, talk to your attorney about challenging your arrest based on the above marked lanes (O.R.C. 4511.33) violation.  If you are able to demonstrate that there was no “reasonable and articulable suspicion” for the stop, your stop is illegal and may lead to the suppression of evidence.

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