BEREA, Ohio — The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced Monday that a new initiative to prevent distracted driving is being launched along a 30-mile stretch of the Ohio Turnpike, through Summit, Portage and Cuyahoga counties.
The 30-mile stretch of the new Distracted Driving Enforcement Zone will begin at milepost 164.1 and end at milepost 191.6 in both the east and westbound lanes.
OSHP said that motorists will see an “increased presence of troopers and additional electronic signage within this zone in an effort to reduce crashes and raise awareness.”
The initiative begins Monday and lasts until March 31, troopers said.
“Driving distracted is unsafe, irresponsible and its consequences can be devastating for families,” Staff Lieutenant William Haymaker, OSHP Turnpike Liaison, said in a press release. “The purpose of establishing this zone is to bring further awareness and education to the problem of distracted driving.”
Troopers defined distracted driving as any “non-driving activity with the potential to distract a person from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing,” citing texting while driving as the main example.
