The Ohio Department of Transportation recognizes the importance of privacy to our website visitors. Therefore, visitors should be aware of the following information:

Public Records

Visitors should be aware that subject to certain statutory exceptions most documents and records maintained by the department, including but not limited to electronic data, are public records under Ohio law. Therefore, information submitted through this website may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.

Usage Statistics

In order to generate usage statistics to help us improve our website, the Ohio Department of Transportation automatically collects information on every visitor to this website. However, this information does not disclose "personal identifiers" (such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.). Each time a request is made to view a page within this website, our website creates a log file capturing generic user information. Examples of this type of information includes the type of Internet browser or computer operating system you are using, the date and time you accessed this site, the Internet protocol address of the individual computer (or proxy server) making the request, and the Internet address of the site from which you may have linked to this site.

All information collected by way of server log files is used in aggregate form only and may be analyzed for trends and statistics.

Online Forms and E-mail

This website will not collect personally identifiable information (such as name, address, telephone number, etc.) unless you provide such information voluntarily and when necessary to provide a service to the public or to other state agencies. Any personal information voluntarily provided by visitors, including personal information from online forms and e-mail, will be used for the purpose stated on the web page and may also be shared with our staff and other agencies as required by law or pursuant to agency authority. Information submitted through this website also may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.

Web Cookies

Visitors who submit information via this website should be aware that data linking your computer to this website (a "cookie") may be created. Temporary cookies may be used when necessary to complete a transaction, to process data submitted online or to facilitate ongoing Internet interaction. Information collected on the Ohio Department of Transportation website, including cookies, may also be subject to public disclosure pursuant to a public records request.

Choices Available to Visitors Regarding Collection, Use and Distribution of Information

Visitors will only receive information from us in response to a request. There may be instances where we send ongoing updates or announcements to interested parties. In such cases, visitors will have the choice whether or not to receive these updates or announcements.

Security Measures

The Ohio Department of Transportation takes very seriously the integrity of the information and systems we maintain. Therefore, we have instituted security measures for all information systems under our control. These security measures are designed to identify attempts to tamper with this website. Information collected through these security measures may be used in connection with a criminal prosecution or other legal proceedings.

Link Policy

The Ohio Department of Transportation website operates as a public service to Ohio residents and visitors. Links to other external websites are officially discourage except through wavier as per statewide DAS Policy IT-10. If and when ODOT's website provides links to external websites that are not maintained or controlled by us, we are not responsible for the content of these external websites. Such links to non-governmental websites does not constitute endorsement.

Social Media Comment Policy

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) uses social media to provide an open source for two-way communication and welcomes comments, questions and ideas from all sides of the issues. While our ultimate goal is to foster engaging, productive conversations, we also expect individuals to maintain an acceptable degree of civility.

We understand that social media is a 24/7 medium; however, we cannot monitor, post or respond to comments 24/7, but will respond as quickly as possible. Generally, we will post or respond to comments from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

ODOT monitors all comments and reserves the right to immediately delete any comment we deem inappropriate. Repeated violations of the department’s comment policy may cause the author to be blocked from the social media site.

A comment may be deleted if it contains the following:

• Hate speech including but not limited to comments that promote, foster, or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, genetics, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or intellectual disability or sexual orientation
   
• Profanity, obscenity or vulgarity including creative spellings of swear words using asterisks or other symbols
   
• Sexual content or links to sexual content
   
• Personal attacks or defamation to a person or group of people
   
• Comments that promote or advertise a person or a business or commercial transaction
   
• Comments that promote or oppose any person campaigning for election to a political office or that promote or oppose any ballot measure
   
• Comments that infringe on copyrights
   
• Spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly
   
• Any other comments that the department’s social media team deems inappropriate

ODOT disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from any reliance on such information. Anyone who posts comments participates at their own risk, taking personal responsibility for their comments, username and any information provided.

Comments posted to ODOT social media sites represent the opinions of the individuals providing the comment and not the views, positions, or policies of ODOT.

All comments made on ODOT’s social media sites are considered public records and are bound by state and federal laws and the Ohio Open Records Act.

Communications made through social media sites will in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the Ohio Department of Transportation or any official or employee of the state of Ohio for any purpose. For official inquiries or correspondence or in case of an emergency, visit our website or call us at (614) 466-7410.

This comment policy is subject to modification at any time. Thank you for taking the time to read our comment policy. We hope you’ll check back with us often for news and information.

Copyright

Many, but not all, of the products and material the Ohio Department of Transportation produces are public records and are open for non-commercial reuse or duplication. Some items, such as the Official Transportation Map, are fully copyrighted, and reuse is expressly restricted.

Reuse of any and all material for commercial purposes is generally prohibited. Waivers to reuse material for  educational purposes, and/or by non-profit or other governmental entities will be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the source material and intended reuse. Accreditation to ODOT for appropriated material is requested. 

Feel free to contact the ODOT Office of Communications for further clarification or for specifics requests.

Privacy Policy for OHGO App

This Privacy Policy governs your use of the software application OHGO (“Application”) for mobile devices that was created by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The Application is offered to provide drivers in Ohio with important information about incidents, among other details, on Ohio highways. The application will provide push notifications to users who choose to provide OHGO with the route they travel in order for OHGO to provide alerts specific to that route.

What information does the Application obtain and how is it used?

User Provided Information

The Application obtains the information you provide when you set up a personalized route. Creating a personalized route is optional. However, please keep in mind that you will not be able to use some of the features offered by the Application unless you create a personalized route with ODOT.

When you provide your personalized route and use the Application, you provide (a) a starting and ending location for the route you are traveling (b) the day(s) of the week and time of the day you desire to receive personalized alerts on information about that route; (c) and information you provide ODOT if you contact ODOT for help. We may also use the information you provided ODOT to contact you from time to time to provide you with important information or required notices.

Automatically Collected Information

In addition, the Application may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device you use, your mobile devices unique device ID, the IP address of your mobile device, your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browsers you use, and information about the way you use the Application.

Does the Application collect precise real time location information of the device?

When you visit the mobile application, we may use GPS technology (or other similar technology)  to determine your current location in order to determine the city you are located within and display a location map with relevant data. We will share your current location with other users or partners in order to provide you with requested notifications.

If you do not want ODOT to use your location for the purposes set forth above, you should turn off the location services for the mobile application located in your account settings or in your mobile phone settings and/or within the mobile application.

Do third parties see and/or have access to information obtained by the Application?

Yes. We will share your information with third parties only in the ways that are described in this privacy statement. We may disclose User Provided and Automatically Collected Information as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process, when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.  Our trusted services providers who work on our behalf do not have an independent use of the information we disclose to them and have agreed to adhere to the rules set forth in this privacy statement.

What are my opt-out rights?

You can stop all collection of information by the Application easily by uninstalling the Application. You may use the standard uninstall processes as may be available as part of your mobile device or via the mobile application marketplace or network.

Data Retention Policy, Managing Your Information

We will retain User Provided data for as long as you use the Application and for a reasonable time thereafter.  If you’d like ODOT to delete User Provided Data that you have provided via the Application, please contact ODOT at ohgo.help@dot.ohio.gov and we will respond in a reasonable time. Please note that some or all of the User Provided Data may be required in order for the Application to function properly.

Children

We do not use the Application to knowingly solicit data from or market to children under the age of 13. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided ODOT with information without their consent, he or she should contact ODOT at ohgo.help@dot.ohio.gov. We will delete such information from our files within a reasonable time.

Security

We are concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of your information. We provide physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect information we process and maintain. For example, we limit access to this information to authorized employees and contractors who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve our Application. Please be aware that, although we endeavor to provide reasonable security for information we process and maintain, no security system can prevent all potential security breaches.

Changes

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. We will notify you of any changes to our Privacy Policy by posting the new Privacy Policy here and informing you within the OHGO app. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any new changes, as continued use is deemed acceptance and approval of all changes.

Your Consent

By using the Application, you are consenting to our processing of your information as set forth in this Privacy

Policy now and as amended by ODOT. "Processing,” means using cookies on a computer/hand held device or using or touching information in any way, including, but not limited to, collecting, storing, deleting, using, combining and disclosing information, all of these activities which will take place in the United States. If you reside outside the United States your information will be transferred, processed and stored there under United States privacy standards.

Contact ODOT

If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about our practices, please contact ODOT via email at ohgo.help@dot.ohio.gov.

Privacy Policy for Other Mobile Apps

This addendum provides our Privacy Policy (“Policy”) for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (“we” or “ODOT”) mobile applications (“Application” or “Applications”) other than OHGO, which has a separate policy. Users (“User” or “you”) should review this document carefully.

1. Public Records

Users should be aware that subject to certain statutory exceptions most documents and records maintained by ODOT, including but not limited to electronic data, are public records under Ohio law. Therefore, information submitted through the Applications may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.

2. Transmission and Retention of Data

To provide Application features, data you submit through the Application may be transmitted to ODOT or a third-party vendor under contract with ODOT. The types of User-submitted data we collect for each of our Applications and our retention procedures for each type of data is described in Supplement A.

We additionally may collect certain usage information automatically when data is requested from or submitted to our or our vendors’ systems. Examples of this type of information includes the type of mobile device you use, the date and time you accessed the system, the Internet protocol address of the mobile device (or proxy server) making the request, the type of mobile internet browser you use, and information about the way you use the system.

3. Use by Children

We do not use our Applications to knowingly solicit data from or market to children under the age of 13. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided ODOT with information without their consent, he or she should contact ODOT at ohgo.help@dot.ohio.gov. We will delete such information from our files within a reasonable time.

4. Security

We are concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of your information. We provide physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect information we process and maintain. For example, we limit access to this information to authorized employees and contractors who need to know that information in order to operate, develop, or improve our Applications. Please be aware that, although we endeavor to provide reasonable security for information we process and maintain, no security system can prevent all potential security breaches.

5. Changes

This Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. We will notify you of any changes to our Policy by posting the new Policy here and informing you within the affected Applications. You are advised to consult this Policy regularly for any new changes, as continued use is deemed acceptance and approval of all changes.

6. Your Consent

By using any of the Applications, you are consenting to our processing of your information as set forth in this Privacy Policy now and as amended by ODOT. Processing means using or touching information in any way, including, but not limited to: collecting, storing, deleting, using, combining, and disclosing information, all of which will take place in the United States. If you reside outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, processed in, and stored in the United States under applicable US standards and laws.

7. Contact ODOT

If you have any questions regarding this Policy or our practices, please contact us via email at ohgo.help@dot.ohio.gov. 

Supplement A

ODOT Location Finder

LTAP Basic Traffic Sign Installation Guide

LTAP Roadside Safety Field Guide