TOLEDO, Ohio — Troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol are getting creative at catching distracted drivers. Air-troopers and troopers on the roads are starting to work together to clock drivers' speeds.
HOW IT WORKS
Troopers in the air circle a concentrated area. They are able to see drivers going to fast, swerving in and out of lanes or someone who may be following too close to a car; all of which can be an indication of distracted driving.
Once air troopers are able to spot a vehicle, they clock its speed and alert troopers on the ground to make a traffic stop.
"Once I confirm that they have the correct one or they’re behind the correct one to initiate a traffic stop, I’ll let them know the time and type of violation and they take the stuff from there," OSHP air trooper Bryan Dail said.
OSHP ON DISTRACTED DRIVING
In 2019, OSHP responded to more than 40 fatal crashes directly related to distracted driving. Through this new program, they're hoping to spot these drivers before something happens.
"Something people don’t realize is that when you pick up that phone and look at that text message, it takes approximately 4.6 seconds and during that time you’ve covered over a football field," Sgt. Ryan Purpura with OSHP said.
For statistics from OSHP on distracted driving, click here.