Tougher texting and driving law proposed for Ohio

Proposed legislation comes after deadliest month on Ohio roads

State lawmakers are considering a bill that would toughen distracted driving laws in Ohio, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The bill would make texting and driving a primary offense, thus allowing police to pull over distracted drivers more easily. The proposal comes after the State Highway Patrol released statistics showing that November has so far been the deadliest month on Ohio’s roads and highways in 2014, with a significant rise in fatal car accidents compared to last year.

Texting and driving

The proposed legislation, House Bill 637, would make texting while behind the wheel a primary offense. This would allow police to pull over drivers believed to be texting without having to observe them committing any other offense. Under current law, texting and driving is a secondary offense, meaning police need to observe drivers committing some other offense, such as speeding or cutting off motorists, to pull drivers over for texting.

Proponents of the bill say it is sorely needed. While 44 states, including Ohio, ban texting while driving, Ohio is just one of five that does not make it a primary offense. According to one lawmaker, making texting and driving a primary offense has been shown to reduce fatal car accidents by three percent.

November was the deadliest month

The proposed legislation seems appropriately timed, given that the Ohio State Highway Patrol says that traffic fatalities were up significantly across Ohio in November. According to WKBN News, traffic fatalities increased by 52 percent in November of this year compared to last year, with 111 deaths recorded during the month.

The deadliest counties were Franklin, Montgomery, and Medina Counties, with 16, 14 and 13 traffic fatalities respectively. Columbiana and Mahoning Counties were both tied for fourth with 10 fatalities each. According to police, impaired and distracted driving are the biggest contributors to fatal accidents in the state. So far in 2014, impaired drivers have caused 35 percent of traffic fatalities.

Is texting and driving in Ohio illegal?

n Ohio, it is illegal for drivers to text and drive, but drivers still become distracted by other activities.

In Ohio, according to the Traffic Safety Bulletin, it is illegal for drivers under the age of 18 to use any sort of wireless communication device while they operate a vehicle. It is also illegal for drivers of all ages to text and drive, but this is only a secondary offense. This means law enforcement officials can only stop a car when they see a driver texting if the driver is also committing a primary offense, such as speeding.

Other Dangers

In 2016, 13,994 drivers in Ohio caused a motor vehicle accident because they were distracted by something inside of their vehicle. Of these collisions, 26 were fatal and resulted in a total of 27 deaths for the year. Another 4,965 drivers were involved in injurious car accidents, which resulted in 7,239 injuries.

While it could be assumed that these collisions were the result of drivers trying to text and operate a vehicle simultaneously, the largest form of distraction reported in 2016 in Ohio was labelled as “Other Inside the Vehicle.” This form of distraction was involved in 50 percent of the fatal crashes that year and 60 percent of the distracted driving collisions as a whole. Actions included in this category were talking with other passengers and eating or drinking, for example.

Categorizing Distraction

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines distracted driving as any activity that takes a driver’s full attention away from the road. There are also three primary forms of distraction, which include:

• Visual – This form of distraction occurs when drivers remove their eyes from the road. For example, a driver who looks at GPS device instead of the road is visually distracted.
• Manual – Drivers who remove their hands from the steering wheel are manually distracted. For instance, a driver who reaches for something on the passenger seat while the vehicle is in motion is manually distracted.
• Cognitive – When drivers stop thinking about driving, they become cognitively distracted. If, for example, a driver focuses on a conversation with a passenger, he or she becomes cognitively distracted.

However, texting and driving is still the most dangerous form of distracted driving because it combines manual, cognitive, and visual distractions.

Legal representation

As the above stories show, Ohio’s roads can be dangerous places at times, especially with so many motorists endangering other people’s lives by choosing to drink or text while driving. Such reckless behavior not only makes for bad driving but also creates a public safety hazard for all other drivers on the road.

For those who have been injured by a negligent or reckless driver, help is at hand. Talking to a personal injury attorney can help victims of car accidents learn about what legal options may be available. A qualified attorney can provide valuable advice about a victim’s case, including, in some cases, pursuing additional claims against any at-fault driver.