“When the state Senate made texting while driving a secondary offense, they took the teeth out of it. It’s not effective and hard to enforce,” Damschroder said.
A secondary offense is a misdemeanor and drivers can be fined $150.
“States that have it as a primary offense have seen a 3 percent reduction in deaths on the highway. That is very significant,” Damschroder said.
Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said he would like to see texting and driving become a primary offense.
“It’s tough to enforce as a secondary offense but if you see somebody swerving with a phone in their hand and they are texting, that should be enough to pull them over,” Plummer said.
Many Ohio drivers agree the law should be tougher, according to a recent survey by AAA.
The survey showed four out of five Ohio AAA members want to make texting and driving a primary offense, according to Cindy Antrican with AAA Miami Valley.
“Triple AAA does support it — anything that will make driving safer,” Antrican said.
19-year-old Sinclair Community College student Shampain Sims said she would like to see the law changed.
“I think it’s a good idea because you can’t focus on the road when you are focused on a text message, so if a cop sees you driving and texting at the same time I feel as though the cop has the right to pull you over,” Sims said.
Motorists should be focused on the road, and only on the road, said John Davis, Centerville police public information officer.
“Centerville has had a local driver inattention ordinance for years and the message stays the same: just drive. Too many people are trying to multitask behind the wheel,” Davis said.
Damschroder also wants to ban any handheld devices while driving in school and construction zones, something he said he likely will include in this new bill.
Tight deadlines could be the bill’s downfall. There are only a few session weeks left and Damschroder is not on the ballot in November’s election because of a petition error.
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