Ohio Auto Accidents News: More Ohio Cities Banning Texting While Driving
With Ohio Texting Laws going into effect last summer, many cities in Ohio are questioning if they are good enough in helping to prevent Ohio auto accidents.
Texting while driving has been the center of many Ohio auto accidents. According to the National Hwy Transportation Safety Administration, texting while driving increases the chances of Ohio Auto Accidents by 23 times. Ohio is well-aware of this danger, which is why the Ohio has a state-wide ban on texting while driving. Ohio drivers will receive a fine and a misdemeanor offence for texting while driving as an adult. Teen drivers have even higher penalties and could lose their license.
Ohio cities still do not believe that the ban is enough to curb Ohio auto accident involving texting while driving. More cities have enacted stricter bans. The most recent city to consider a ban on texting is Marietta. Mayor Joe Matthews is behind the proposed ban. The city proposes to make texting while driving within Marietta a primary offense for adults just like it already is for teen drivers anywhere in Ohio. Marietta is modeling their city ban off Cleveland suburb Beachwood, which enacted a similar texting ban in June, 2012. According to Beachwood’s law director, over 200 drivers were pulled over for texting in the first 6 months after the ban. [http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/578948/Marietta-hearing-lays-out-risks-for-drivers-who-text.html?nav=5061 October, 2013]
The Ohio auto accident attorneys at Wright and Schulte LLC have the experiencing in helping people after Ohio crashes. If you have been injured in an Ohio Auto Accident, don’t go it alone, contact the personal injury lawyers at Wright & Schulte LLC today for a FREE consultation at www.yourohiolegalhelp.com or by calling 937-222-7477.
Current Ohio Texting While Driving Laws
Ohio has had a ban on texting and driving of some sort since March, 2012. In March, 2013, the laws increased. As of October, 2013, Ohio’s current state-wide ban on texting is as follows:
Texting and driving for teens under 18 is a primary offense. Any teen driver caught using any electronic wireless devices while driving will face a 6-month license suspension and a $150 fine for a first offense. For a second offense, the fine and suspension time will double.
Adult drivers will only be cited for writing, sending, or reading texts. They will face a misdemeanor fine of up to $150. Adult drivers can only be pulled over as a secondary offense if the police officer has a suspected cause other than texting to pull the driver over. Ohio was actually the 39th state to enact a state-wide texting ban. (February, 2013,
http://www.fox19.com/story/21429474/ohio-texting-and-driving-law-in-full-effect-tomorrow)
Distracted Driving Stats
According to the National Hwy Transportation Safety Administration, texting while driving is four times as dangerous as driving while intoxicated and 23 times more likely to cause a crash than driving without distractions. The National Safety Council states that texting while driving may be responsible for up to 1,600,000 accidents a year world wide. According to the Institute for Highway Safety, 11 teens die every day as a result of texting while driving. Up to one quarter of all car accidents are texting-related. (October, 2013, http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/)
Ohio Cities with Increased Texting Laws
Due to the dangerous nature of texting while driving, many Ohio cities have added additional bans beyond what the state of Ohio requires. Most of these bans change the law to make texting a primary offense for adult drivers as well as teen drivers. Ohio cities with existing stronger texting bans include:
- Beachwood
- Brooklyn
- North Olmsted
- South Euclid
- Walton Hills
- Woodmere
- North Royalton
- Cleveland
- Lyndhyrst
- Summit Country
- Cleveland Heights
- Berea
Cleveland has proposed an additional ban on the use of any electronic device in the car, including music players, GPS systems, and any electronic device without a hands-free setting. Using these devices would become a primary offense in Cleveland. In Cleveland, over 100 tickets have been issued due to texting while driving since 2012. In Brooklyn, over 1,200 tickets were issued the first year of the ban in 2010. In 2012, only 227 tickets were issued, showing that texting while driving is dramatically decreasing in Brooklyn alone. (May, 2012 http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/05/despite_new_statewide_texting.html)
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