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OSHP, Sheriff’s Office Teaming Up On Distracted Driving Initiative

Matt Demczyk

The Findlay Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office are teaming up to take distracted drivers off the road.

Details are in the following media release from the highway patrol.

The Findlay Post, and the Hancock County Sheriffs Department will be conducting a Distracted Driving effort February 23rd-29th in Hancock County.

Last year, 95 traffic crashes were related to distracted driving which resulted in 1 person losing their life, and more than 32 were injured in Hancock County. Sending or receiving a text message takes a drivers eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of driving the length of an entire football field when traveling at 55 mph.

Every time someone takes their eyes off the road – even for just a few seconds – they put their lives and the lives of others in danger, said Lt. Matthew Crow Commander of the Findlay Post. Distracted driving is unsafe and irresponsible. In a split second, its consequences can be devastating.

In October of 2018, Ohio passed House Bill 95, a law which broadened what is considered distracted driving and increased the fine if it was a contributing factor to the commission of the driving violation.

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity with the potential to distract a person from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing. Distractions can be visual, taking eyes off of the road; manual, taking hands off the wheel; or cognitive, taking the mind off driving. Texting while driving is an example that results in all three types of distraction.

As a reminder, Ohio law bans all electronic wireless communication device usage for drivers under 18. Texting while driving is illegal for all drivers and is a secondary offense for adults 18 and above.

During the course of the Distracted Driving effort the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Hancock County Sherriffs Department will also enforce Ohios mandatory seatbelt law, and other crash causing violations.