One major exception is the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Of the 5,860 citations issued statewide from April 2023 to April 2024, state troopers issued 5,366 of them. OSHP released data in October that they claim shows the new law led to a dramatic drop in distracted driving-related crashes and deaths.
In contrast, 148 law enforcement agencies — including 27 in Butler, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble and Warren counties — reported issuing zero tickets. Large local departments reporting no tickets include Springfield, and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
Another caveat: While state law requires every agency to report data to the AG’s office monthly to be compiled and released annually, the report says nearly three-quarters of departments reported no data.
Data required to be reported includes racial demographics to monitor for racial profiling. Of the agencies who reported numbers to the state, 14% of reported citations were to Black drivers and nearly 80% to white drivers. Ohio’s population is roughly 13.4% Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
This story is looking at data for drivers cited for driving while texting. Attorney General’s Office data says an additional 2,180 tickets were issued under a more broad distracted driving law. OSHP gave out 1,947 of those tickets, followed by Five Rivers MetroParks with 22.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine strongly supported the new distracted driving laws. Asked about the low number of citations issued by local departments, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the governor supports improving reporting of data and training for officers in how and why to enforce the law.
But Tierney said handing out tickets is part of a larger effort including education and insurance incentives, and that data from insurance companies and crash reports show cellphone usage while driving is down.
“Citations are one deterrent, but they are far from the only deterrent the state has put in place since the law was passed,” Tierney said. “We are pleased that things are moving in the right direction, although there is, of course, always more work to do.”
Dayton, Springfield use discretion
The most recent publicly available data is from April 2023 to April 2024. More recent numbers won’t be available until later this year. Some local law enforcement agencies noted that their officers often still give out warnings instead of citations for the relatively new law.
“The Dayton Police Department continues to educate the community and raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving,” Dayton Police Department spokesman James Rider told this news outlet. “The decision to issue a warning or citation is left to the discretion of the officer, based on the specific circumstances observed at the time of the violation.”
Dayton and Union police issued 16 citations for driving while texting during the first year, followed by Beavercreek (8), Fairborn (7) and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (4).
Officials with the Springfield Police Division, which was listed as reporting zero citations during that time, said there could be a number of reasons for that, including officers choosing to not issue a citation or issuing a citation for a different charge.
MetroParks: ‘Need for enforcement’
Five Rivers MetroParks typically gives more warnings than citations, “but ... that specific choice is up to the individual officer,” said spokesman Lt. Eric Lane.
“Generally with MetroParks, we kind of prefer education-based policing, so we do write citations, but it’s not a priority to us,” Lane said. “It’s kind of at the rangers’ discretion on the scene. There’s so many factors that could fall into that, we allow them to make a decision on that.”
Lane said that vehicles driving through parks tend to be moving slow, which makes it easier to see if someone is on their phone. “I think that’s why we are so high, because a majority of the areas that we’re patrolling are between like 20 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour,” he said.
Lane emphasized the importance of traffic law enforcement in MetroParks due to the high volume of pedestrians and bikers.
“Dayton is such a bike path region now that a lot of the bike paths go into the parks, and then you have residents that ride their bike from residential areas, and so there’s a lot of need for enforcement there.”
Mark Hess, MetroParks' chief of public safety, said the majority of the distracted driving violations there occur at just a few of MetroParks' locations.
Hamilton notes challenges
This news outlet reached out to the Hamilton Police Department, which was among those listed as not reporting data to the state. Spokesman Brian Ungerbuehler said he was “not sure why the data wasn’t sent or not entered,” and provided statistics showing HPD issued 10 citations between April 4, 2023 and April 3, 2024.
Ungerbuehler said the department attempts to enforce the distracted driving law just like any other violation, “but it has to be observed by the officer before a stop can be initiated on the vehicle.”
“Officers cannot go by information called in by another citizen that, ‘The driver of a blue ford license plate 123456 was driving while on the phone,’” he said. “The violation needs to be witnessed by the officer.”
There are several challenges to enforcing the law, such as being able to determine the person was actually using the device while driving, Ungerbuehler said.
“They’re allowed to use single swipes to answer but cannot enter letters or numbers,” he said. “We cannot look at their phone to verify that they did or did not enter a letter or number, without a search warrant. Sometimes it is pretty obvious when they were previously stopped in traffic and the light changes and they are still stopped with their head looking down at their device.”
Officers have the discretion to issue a warning or citation for violations, Ungerbuehler said.
“If a warning is issued, it can be added to the CAD (computer-aided dispatch) call, so if another officer stops the same vehicle for the same offense three weeks later, dispatch would be able to inform the officer of the previous information and the officer can once again use his or her discretion to warn or cite the individual,” he said.
Distracted driving law
Ohio’s new distracted driving laws went into effect in April 2023, though drivers had a six month grace period before enforcement began in earnest in October 2023.
Under Ohio’s driving while texting law, a motorist cannot drive while holding or physically supporting a phone or other electronic device. According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Ohio Department of Transportation, some of the exceptions include “drivers using their phone to report an emergency to law enforcement, a hospital, health care provider, fire department or similar emergency entity.”
“Drivers also may hold their phone to their ear only during phone conversations, if the call is started or stopped with a single touch or swipe,” the agencies said. They also “may hold and use cell phones and electronic devices while stopped at a traffic light or parked on a road or highway during an emergency or road closure.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Additionally, first responders or utility workers responding to an emergency are exempt.
According to the law, motorist also may use hands-free features like speaker phone or voice commands. They also may use navigation, but only if the device is mounted and they are not typing addresses while driving.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s total reported distracted driving violations numbered 8,839 in 2022 and 8,905 in 2023, according to data the agency provided this news outlet. With the addition of the driving-while-texting law, a new distracted driving law, and enforcement of other previously existing distracted driving laws, it issued 27,597 citations for 2024.
Sgt. Ryan Purpura, spokesman for OSHP, said prior to the new laws, an OSHP trooper would simply cite a motorist on a cellphone for a traffic violation, such as speeding or marked lanes, then check a box to note that it occurred as the result of distracted driving.
The goal is stopping someone for the new driving While texting violation to give them a warning or citation.
“Most of the time, I’d say you’re probably going to see a citation, because we want to change that driving behavior,” he said. “If you do get a citation on your first offense ... you can take an educational course online and send that certificate (of completion) to the court to get that fine starting at $150 waived on a first offense, because there, again, the goal is to change that behavior and make it safer for everyone out there.”
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