Distracted Driving Awareness Month

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the Ohio State Highway Patrol is reminding drivers to keep their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and their mind on the task.

Zanesville Post Commander Lieutenant Kristi Mistovich explained the seriousness of the problem and the extent they can use to pull motorists over. 

“It is Distracted Driving Awareness Month through the entire month of April,” Mistovich said. “Our officers are just looking for motorists that are just simply not paying attention and distraction can be a lot of things. Typically people think of cell phone usage with the new change in Ohio’s law but it could also be your occupants, it could be your music or it could be a day just like today where you’re just looking out the window and you’re not in fully control or aware of operating your vehicle safely.”

Enforcement officers automatically have probable cause to pull motorists over if they witness erratic driving or distracted behaviors under Ohio’s Distracted Driving law. 

“So over the last four years, Ohio has seen over 45,000 crashes just out of related distracted driving alone,” Mistovich said. “Hundreds of fatalities as a result of distracted driving of different types of distractions. So here at the Zanesville Post, we’re committed to our troopers looking for those type of motorists that are simply not paying attention. And doing our due diligence to pull them over and try to curb and change their behavior and reduce those traffic fatalities.”

Emergency calls are permitted under any circumstances and the state patrol is asking the public to dial #677 when they encounter fellow motorists who are driving while distracted.