OHIO, USA — Ohio made texting while driving a primary offense just over a year ago. It has been over six months since the law's grace period ended and authorities stopped issuing warnings and started issuing tickets for people who do not put their phones down while driving.
But is the potential of big fines enough to convince drivers to pay more attention?
If you look at the numbers, one could argue it is working. The Ohio State Highway Patrol says distracted driving crashes are down this year.
But despite the data, drivers tell WTOL 11 it's still happening.
"I've never seen more telephones now since the new laws are out," said Ron Jurski, who lives in Toledo.
"I haven't really noticed a change," Emil Cotton, a Toledoan, said. "I know I try to be careful, but I haven't really noticed a change myself."
In this case, perception isn't really reality when you look at the numbers. In 2023, there were 28 distracted driving-related fatal crashes in Ohio, which is the fewest distracted driving-related deaths over the last five years, according to OSHP.
RELATED: Data shows distracted driving crashes in Ohio are down 1 year after law goes into effect, OSHP says
Scott Ciolek is an attorney in Toledo.
He says he's seeing more clients getting tickets related to distracted driving.
"And then in the past month, I've gotten several phone calls and I called around to some of my lawyer friends in town, and they've all been reporting a spike in the number of citations that are being issued for this offense," Ciolek said.
Information from state troopers backs that up.
The state patrol says it handed out almost 3,600 distracted driving violations following the end of the grace period in just the last three months of 2023.
That's more than double the year before.
"It's like, I see more people with problems with smoking cigarettes in their driver's seats than they do those phones," Jurski said.
According to the law, no person shall operate a motor vehicle, on any street, highway, or holding, or physically supporting with any part of the person's body an electronic wireless communications device.
There are 12 very specific exceptions that allow you to hold your phone while you’re driving, but those exceptions are dependent on who you are and what the situation is and if you are ticketed for holding your phone while you’re driving, it’ll be up to the person driving to prove that they fall into one of the exceptions.
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