It’s a statistical analysis that prompted the partnership between the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio State Highway Patrol, now drivers will see some changes between Beaverdam and Findlay.
The 20 mile stretch between these two cities will now be known as the "Distracted Driving Safety Corridor". It’s the remedy ODOT and OSHP are using to deter the dangers of distracted driving. These signs will go up on I-75 through the next week as they kicked off the campaign on Thursday. This plan also means more targeted enforcement on this stretch of roadway.
"We can only do so much with engineering," Chris Hughes said, deputy director of ODOT District 1. "The state patrol can only do so much with enforcement the rest is people making good decisions when they’re driving. And that’s where doing this to not only highlight the enforcement but also to bring education and awareness to what the problem really is."
This area has been studied since 2017. 400 crashes happened in that 20 miles including 80 injuries and three deaths. This plan has already been in use on I-76 and I-80 in Youngstown. ODOT and law enforcement found a 28% reduction in crashes through their signs and enforcement.
Distracted driving can mean more than just using your phone. Troopers have seen people using laptops, grading papers and eating cereal. But they’ll also be looking for other infractions such as impaired driving and speeding. Driving while distracted will enhance your penalty.
"Sometimes people don’t realize, oh I can send that text, I can make that phone call, I can swipe up to that Instagram or Facebook post and look at it really quick," Capt. John Altman said, district commander of district 1 for OSHP. "But when you’re traveling 70 miles an hour, you cover a lot of ground very quickly and you’re talking the difference between life and death.
"We want to make sure that this message stays fresh, but we’re not setting a certain endpoint," Hughes said. "So we’ll take a look, we’ll get some feedback from law enforcement and we’ll take a look at the data over the next coming months and coming years.
And the cherry on top, Lt. Tim Grigsby actually pulled a driver over on his way to the kickoff event. The driver was swerving on I-75 and come to find out, they were using their cell phone.
