COLUMBUS – The Ohio State Highway Patrol joined forces with other members of the 6-State Trooper Project to focus on distracted driving enforcement.
During the project, 1,619 people were cited with distracted driving-related offenses. In Ohio, 271 distracted driving citations were issued.
The high-visibility enforcement included the Indiana State Police, Kentucky State Police, Michigan State Police, Pennsylvania State Police and the West Virginia State Police, as well the Patrol. The initiative began on Sunday, April 14 at 12:01 a.m. and continued through Saturday, April 20 at 11:59 p.m.
On October 29, 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.
The 6-State Trooper Project is a multi-state law enforcement partnership aimed at providing combined and coordinated law enforcement and security services in the areas of highway safety, criminal patrol and intelligence sharing.
For a statewide breakdown please visit: https://statepatrol.ohio.gov/links/2019_6StateTrooperDistractedDrivingOSHP_PIO.pdf