COLUMBUS, Ohio — April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which has become an epidemic on our roads, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. There are deadly and expensive consequences when it comes to distracted driving.
Talking or texting on your phones and eating on the road can all have lifelong consequences. The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that since 2019, there have been more than 57,000 distracted driving crashes. During this same time, there were more than 1,600 fatal or serious injury crashes.
It has been one year since Ohio's distracted driving law took effect. Depending on the offense, penalties can include fines of up to $500 or getting your driver's license suspended. OSHP Lt. Ray Santiago said these fines keep people from paying the ultimate price.
"When you have someone that's severely injured or when we have to visit a home to give a death notification to tell you someone's not coming home for a very poor decision behind the wheel, that's where it's truly costly," said Santiago.
Also, after the distracted driving law took effect with a five-month grace period, Lt. Santiago said the OSHP has seen encouraging numbers.
He said crashes due to distracted driving decreased by more than 650 compared to the previous year. During this same time, troopers issued more than 6,600 citations from 2019 through 2023. There were 69 fatal crashes resulting in 185 deaths.
Lt. Santiago said this new law helps them be proactive in addressing this issue.
"If folks have a court date or have to pay a fine, those are inconvenient for sure and hopefully help change some behaviors," he said. "Ultimately, we just don't want to get to the point where we're handling a crash where someone's seriously injured or have to knock on the door to deliver some bad news."
10TV emphasizes the importance of not driving distracted because this has had a life-changing impact on one of our own here. Two weeks ago, Dom Tiberi gave his 159th Maria's Message presentation. He went to St. Francis Desales in front of nearly a thousand students
Dom started Maria's Message after his daughter Maria was killed in a crash. Since then, he's made it a mission to end distracted driving. Dom will be at Big Walnut on April 18.
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