Police officers could pull over and cite adult motorists for texting while driving under a bill recommended for passage today by a committee of the Ohio House of Representatives.
House Bill 637 would make texting while driving a primary offense instead of the current secondary offense in which officers must witness another violation such as following too closely to cite an offender. The minor misdemeanor is punishable by up to a $150 fine.
The Transportation Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee passed the bill by a 10 2 vote potentially sending it to the House floor for a vote as legislators race to finish their work in the lame duck session.
Advocates for the bill including sponsor Rep. Rex Damschroder R Fremont said the proposal promises to reduce traffic crashes and deaths by cracking down on distracted driving.
The bill also would forbid the use of a cellular phone for any purpose while driving in school zones during restricted hours and in highway construction zones during work hours.
The committee heard from several witnesses who support the measure including two Gahanna residents who lost family members in distracted driving crashes.
With a secondary offense police have to wait until (a driver) does something else. When driving under the influence of electronics that something else is too often a crash and those crashes too often cause serious injury or death said Sharon Montgomery.
Her husband John was killed and she was seriously injured in a three car crash near Johnstown in Licking County in 2000 in which the driver at the fault was fiddling with a cell phone.
Brock Dietrich also asked legislators to pass the bill. His daughter Sydnee 17 was killed last year when she was thrown from her car in a crash while texting and driving.
I used to text and drive and I live with the guilt every day that Sydnee learned this behavior while watching me he said. Your job is to pass legislation to protect the citizens of this state from the dangers cell phones create while driving.
Of the 44 states that ban texting while driving it is a primary offense in 39 states said Kimberly Schwind of the Ohio Conference of AAA Clubs. The secondary offense law appears to have done little to discourage distracted driving she said.
People continue to text and drive and these people don t only pose a danger to themselves they pose a danger to everyone on the road she said.
State officials say drivers distracted by texting or using a phone were involved in nearly 2 800 crashes last year including 16 that were fatal but believe those numbers are significantly underreported.
State law currently allows police to stop drivers under age 18 who they see using a cell phone for any purpose and issue tickets that can include a 60 day license suspension.
The bill would still permit users to punch in a phone number and make calls while driving and use cell phones for purposes such as GPS navigation. The House voted two years ago to make texting while driving a primary offense for adults but the Senate declined to pass the provision.
rludlow dispatch.com
RandyLudlow
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