Youngstown Daily Legal News

Stricter penalties sought for distracted driving

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: July 3, 2017

A bill that would tack an additional $100 fine onto a traffic violation for texting while driving, as long as the activity lent itself to the moving violation, cleared the Ohio House of Representatives recently.

House Bill 95 would establish an enhanced penalty for committing a moving violation while distracted and if the distraction is the apparent cause of the violation.

For purposes of the enhanced penalty for distracted driving, "distracted" means doing either of the following while operating a vehicle:

• Using a handheld electronic wireless communications device, except when using: the device's speakerphone; a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances; a voice operated or hands-free device that allows the person to use the electronic wireless communications device without the use of either hand except to activate, deactivate, or initiate a feature or function; or any device that is physically or electronically integrated into the motor vehicle.

• Engaging in any activity that is not necessary to the operation of a vehicle and that impairs or reasonably would be expected to impair the ability of the operator to drive the vehicle safely.

"In today's world, current technology has aided in the creation of a society that is constantly communicating, whether it be texting, emailing, searching directions, surfing the web or listening to music," Rep. Jim Hughes, R-Columbus, said of the bill he sponsored jointly with fellow Republican Rep. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati. "The dangers of taking part in these activities while behind the wheel are a harsh reality on our roads.

"With all of these high tech devices and society wanting to be connected at all times, it's so easy to get distracted when behind the wheel."

According to HB 95, handheld electronic communications devices include a wireless telephone, a text-messaging device, a personal digital assistant, a computer (laptop or tablet) and any other substantially similar wireless device that is designed or used to communicate text.

The lawmaker cited 2016 Ohio State Highway Patrol figures, highlighting the seriousness of the problem: Of the 13,980 crashes that involved distracted driving, 26 resulted in deaths and 4,960 injuries.

"Distracted driving is extremely dangerous and unfortunately all too common," Hughes said of the statistics. "It is our hope that this legislation will encourage drivers to remain focused on the road and help save lives.

"To be clear, our legislative goal is to encourage Ohio drivers to be cautious when driving and to think of their safety before anything else. No text message or phone call is worth losing your life or harming someone else."

There exist two exceptions to the bill's definition of distracted. The first covers utility workers who are operating service vehicles on the job and responding to an emergency, power outage or circumstance affecting the health or safety of individuals.

The second addresses motorists who wear an earphones or earplugs while driving - already a violation of its own, R.C. 4511.991(A)(2).

"While we believe that our state law should ultimately move towards making distracted driving a primary offense, we realize this is a critical first step forward in addressing this issue," Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission Executive Director William Murdock told House committee members during hearings. "We also support how the bill creates an enhanced driving penalty for 'distracted driving' that only comes into play when a driver is pulled over for another moving violation.

"The amount of the fine that will be assessed for the additional penalty of driving while distracted will be $100 for each offense. The fee will be paid on top of the fine assessed for the original violation."

A last-minute amendment to make the offense of distracted driving a primary offenses was scuttled before the bill was reported out of committee.

Seventeen fellow House members offered cosponsor support of the bill, which has yet to be taken up by the Senate.

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