OHIO, USA — Distracted driving crashes hit a six-year low last month thanks to a new law aimed at decreasing the number of such accidents, according to Gov. Mike DeWine.
Preliminary data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol shows distracted driving crashes hit a record low in September 2023 when compared to each month dating back to at least January 2018.
There were 1,383 such crashes in May 2018 compared to last September with 576 crashes.
In January, DeWine signed a bill designed to strengthen laws related to distracted driving. The law went into effect April 4 with a six-month grace period that allows drivers to become accustomed to the law.
Last year, 10TV sports anchor Dom Tiberi testified in support of the legislation. Dom lost his 21-year-old daughter, Maria, in a distracted driving crash on Sept. 17, 2013.
Since then, the Tiberis and their 10TV family have been on a mission to teach young drivers about the dangers of distracted driving.
Maria's Message was created in 2016 and Dom has delivered her message over 150 times to schools across Ohio.
Starting Oct. 5, law enforcement will be able to issue citations to drivers who are distracted driving. The law allows people to be stopped by police solely for holding or using a cellphone while driving. It specifically prohibits drivers from “using, holding, or physically supporting” a cellphone.
The legislature comes with some exceptions, such as if they are stopped at a red light, using a speakerphone function without holding the phone, or holding phones to their ears for calls but not using texting or typing functions.
Here are the penalties if the law is violated:
- 1st offense in two years: 2 points assessed to driver's license, up to a $150 fine.
- 2nd offense in two years: 3 points assessed to license, up to a $250 fine.
- 3rd or more offense in two years: 4 points assessed to license, up to a $500 fine, possible 90-day suspension of driver's license.
- Fines are doubled if the violation occurs in a work zone.
* Completion of a distracted driving course can help avoid the fine and points.
OSHP says when comparing the first nine months of 2022 and 2023, there were 1,255 fewer distracted driving crashes this year, which is a 16% decrease. Over the same period of time, distracted driving fatalities dropped nearly 25%.
Data shows overall crashes have decreased as well.
Besides April 2020, when less people were driving because of the pandemic, September 2023 had the lowest number of overall crashes in nearly six years.
The total number of crashes was at its highest in January 2018 at 29,264 crashes in comparison to about 14,458 crashes last month, which is a different of more than 50%.
OSHP is going to conduct high-visibility enforcement to encourage more drivers to follow the law throughout the state, including on Interstate 71 in Delaware County, I-77 in Summit County, I-70 in Guernsey County and U.S. 35 in Jackson County.