COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers and other law enforcement officers will be keeping a sharp eye out for signs of distracted driving for the next few days.
The patrol will be joining up with local law enforcement from April 10 through April 15 for effort to reduce the number of crashes caused by drivers distracted by texting, talking on the phone or any other activity that takes their minds off the road or their hands off the wheel.
The National Safety Council has named April Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
The Ohio law enforcement initiative is part of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign to curb distracted driving and make drivers more aware of the problem, which the institute says was a factor in accidents that left more than 3,000 Americans dead and 387,000 injured in 2012, patrol superintendent Col. Paul Pride said.
“Every time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road – even for just a few seconds – they put their lives and the lives of others in danger,” Pride said.
Troopers will be enforcing the state’s law banning texting while driving and looking for traffic violations that may be caused by distracted driving and could lead to crashes. They include aggressive driving, marked lane violations, following too closely and driving left of center, Pride said.
Signed in 2012, Ohio’s law prohibits adults from using “handheld electronic wireless communications device to write, send or read a text while driving,” subject to a fine of up to $150. Drivers under 18 are prohibited from using any device while driving for any purpose.
For older drivers, the offense is a secondary violation, meaning officers would have to stop the motorists for another violation, like speeding, but it is a primary offense for younger drivers, meaning the officer can pull the driver over if they are seen using a device.
Pride says sending or receiving a text message takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. At 55 mph, a car can drive the length of a football field in that amount of time.
Authorities define distracted driving as “any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increases the risk of crashing.”
Pride says texting while driving results in all three forms of distraction: Taking a driver’s eyes off of the road, hands off the wheel and mind off driving.