State Highway Patrol Joins In On Distracted Driving Crackdown

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio-The Ohio State Highway Patrol routinely joins initiatives focusing on officer and public safety. 

The patrol joined a coalition initiative with several other states to crack down on distracted driving. The initiative began on October 5th and will end on October 12th. 

“The six state trooper project is a collaborative effort between Ohio and five states around it: Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania to crack down on distracted driving… We’re going to be looking for crash causing violations that may be attributed to distracted driving. That could be things like speed, marked lanes violations and of course crashes.”, trooper Brice Nihiser told reporters.

Those found distracted driving are subject to a one hundred dollar fine tacked on to their existing violation. The initiative will increase trooper presence on highly driven highways. 

“For the driver, as long as they’re following the law, it shouldn’t look any different. You’re going to see troopers out on the roadways, we’re going to be out, visible, trying to make sure that everyone has a safe driving environment… The state patrol just reminds everyone to make sure that you’re not distracted while you’re driving, that you wear your seatbelt and most importantly don’t drive impaired.”, Nihiser continued.

Since 2015 the state highway patrol reports 248 deaths directly related to distracted driving.