COLUMBUS — Faced with escalating highway fatality statistics, Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday called on lawmakers to allow police to pull over drivers solely for using handheld wireless communications devices behind the wheel.
That would include such things as texting, taking selfies, watching videos, sending or reading an email, dialing and talking on a cell phone, using apps, playing games, and entering an address into a GPS device.
It has been a crime in Ohio since 2012 to text and drive, and lawmakers have since increased penalties, but traffic fatalities continue to climb. The role of smart phones in those statistics is believed to be underreported.
“Each year we have more and more cars that are safer and safer on our roads...,” Mr. DeWine said. “What we should be seeing is a rather dramatic reduction in auto fatalities in the state of Ohio. It is abundantly clear that one of the main reasons we are not seeing that...is because of distracted driving.”
He was surrounded by families of victims of crashes that involved distracted driving. They'd lost sons, daughters, uncles, brothers, and, in one instance six months ago, an unborn son who would have been named Gabriell. In some cases it was the victim who was distracted.
A number of those attending, including Mr. DeWine, readily admitted to having used handheld devices while driving.
“It only takes a few seconds to pull up your emails, texts, to see who has tagged you on social media,” the governor said. “It only takes a few seconds to rear-end the car in front of you, miss a stop sign and slam into a school bus, or drift over the double yellow line and hit an oncoming car.”
As with Ohio's seat-belt law, texting while driving is a secondary offense, not enough by itself to justify a traffic stop for adult drivers. The maximum fine is $150.
But it is a primary offense for drivers under the age of 18 to use any electronic communications device, with violators facing possible license suspensions in addition to fines.
The governor's proposal, dubbed Hands-Free Ohio, is in line with recommendations from a distracted driving panel he convened last year. The bipartisan bill —sponsored by Sens. Stephanie Kunze (R., Hillard) and Sean O'Brien (D. Bazetta) — would enact a single, easily explained primary-offense law covering all drivers as well as higher fines.
It would also open drivers to potential license suspensions after repeat violations and could lead to vehicular homicide charges if a death results from a violation. If passed, police officers could only issue warnings during the first six months after the law takes effect.
The task force argued that citations issued strictly for distracted driving would make it easier to see how pervasive the problem is and track the state's progress in battling it.
Generally the bill would not apply to use of electronic devices that are not handheld, and it provides exceptions for emergency calls and use by law enforcement. Handheld devices may be used when a vehicle is stationary and out of driving lanes. Handheld GPS devices could be used as long as the address has already been entered.
Among Ohio's neighbors, only West Virginia has a primary-offense ban for all drivers. The Mountaineer State saw a 23.3 percent reduction in fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled within two years, after the law's passage.
Some Ohio cities have enacted their own primary enforcement laws.
The state has tried various ways to combat the issue. In 2018 it passed House Bill 95, adding $100 to speed, lane, or other traffic violations, if police determine the driver was generally distracted at the time, regardless of whether it was to text, read an email, or adjust the GPS.
The driver could avoid the fine by taking a one-hour distracted-driving course instead.
Still 2019 saw the second-highest number of highway fatalities of the last decade at 1,157. The number was 1,080 in 2010.
Mr. DeWine's proposal has the backing of AAA.
“The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Research ... has determined that hands-free is not risk-free,” said AAA spokesman Kimberly Schwind. “There are a lot of distractions in a vehicle that are attached and not attached. Distracted driving is as old as the automobile itself. ... The proliferation of handheld wireless devices are taking drivers' attention away from the road for extended periods of time.”
She drew a distinction between Ohio's seat-belt law, which would remain a secondary offense, and a primary distracted driving offense.
“With a seat belt, you're saving somebody's life once they're already in a crash,” Ms. Schwind said. “With distracted driving, it's something that causes crashes.”
Sharon Montgomery, of the Columbus suburb of Gahanna, was among those at the news conference. She has advocated for changes in distracted-driving law since her husband, John, was killed and she was severely injured in 2000. Their car was hit by a driver who later admitted he’d been texting.
“If police can't stop someone before they do harm, then you're not accomplishing anything,” she said. “When they have to wait for an offender to violate some other traffic law, that something else could be what causes the harm. It's better to prevent the harm.”
Ms. Montgomery said lawmakers should eventually rethink distracted-driving law as a whole.
“We need a chemically impaired law for alcohol and drugs and an electronically impaired law, because we know that impairs the ability of the brain to function properly,” she said. “Then we need inattention distraction. We need to have a conversation about what is an avoidable distraction and what is an unavoidable distraction.”
First Published February 13, 2020, 9:02 p.m.
