The Ohio State Patrol is reporting a rising number of distracted driving crashes, year after year.
State troopers are increasing enforcement on distracted driving, through this Saturday.
“I wish it was just as easy as the highway patrol writing more tickets or communities educating students more,” said Lt. Gable.
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So, could harsher penalties be the answer?
Representative Jim Hughes is working to strengthen distracted driving fines in Ohio. He told News 5 no text message or phone call is worth losing your life or harming someone else.
“Our legislative goal is to encourage Ohio drivers to be cautious when driving and to think of their safety before anything else,” Hughes said.
The distracted driving bill is currently being considered by the Ohio Senate. If it passes, drivers could face an extra $100 fine on top of other citations for using their phone or any other electronic device on the road.
News 5 went out with Sgt. Christopher Brock Tuesday morning. Within five minutes, Sgt. Brock was able to catch a driver on his phone, swerving into the middle lane in Brook Park.
When he pulled over the driver, he asked, “You know that's against the law, right?”
The driver said yes. He was surprisingly honest with News 5 about why he was on the phone. He talked about convenience.
“If you're talking to a person at home, or something like this, you can get what you need to know or do before you get home, like on the way home, you know,” he said.
In 2015, about 13,200 crashed occurred, due to distracted driving. In 2016, the number almost went up to 14,000.
