MARION, Ohio — Marion police said two of their own had a couple of close encounters early Friday morning with distracted drivers.
It's an issue officers at the Marion Police Department say they see more than anything else.
"Obviously they face violence and things like that on the streets but really this is one of the more repetitive issues that they face,” said Marion Police Operations Commander and Major BJ Gruber.
When on the clock, officers have some close calls with distracted drivers.
Body camera video from an officer showed a close call during a traffic stop early Friday morning. The video shows a driver speeding towards officers, before realizing they need to stop.
No one was hurt.
It was one of two instances overnight where officers in the city had to dodge a driver distracted behind the wheel.
"One was near the area of Delaware Avenue where we are doing some roadway construction. Right now they are doing some repaving, so we had a vehicle for whatever reason, [that] didn't see the officer down there and it was kind of a close call," said Gruber. "And then the second incident was out of a traffic stop near the downtown area."
According to Ohio State Highway Patrol, over the last five years, there have been more than 60,000 distracted driving crashes with 465 in Marion County alone.
But changes for enforcement are coming.
In April, Ohio's new distracted driving law passed, allowing officers to pull over drivers if they see them illegally using a cell phone.
There's a six-month grace period to bring law enforcement up to speed and that's now coming to an end. Officers will have the authority to issue citations starting in October.
Meanwhile, in Marion, two close calls are renewing one call:
“Just slow down. Pay attention. The flashing lights should be pretty easy to see,” Gruber said.
This reminder is timely as more people are expected to hit the road for one of the final weekends of summer vacation.