State Studying Effectiveness Of Distracted Driving Zones

(ONN) – The Ohio State Highway Patrol says fatal and serious injury crashes are down by 20 percent over the last year.

But, there’s still room for improvement and the state is requesting $150,000 to study the effects of distracted driving zones.

There are 12 distracted driving zones in the state of Ohio but the Highway Patrol is focusing on four of them, including one in Delaware County along Interstate 71.

Distracted driving zones have a dedicated Highway Patrol trooper to watch people if they’re on their phones.

A company called Cambridge Analytics plans to pull driving data from mobile devices to see whether or not people who are driving in these areas are touching their phones while driving.

Based on their studies, these distracted driving zones could be moved to other areas where drivers are at greater risk.

In 2020, the stretch of Interstate 75 between Findlay and Beaverdam was designated a Distracted Driving Safety Corridor with extra enforcement and higher fines.