Beginning last week, October 5, 2023, law enforcement has started issuing citations for violating this law.
When the new distracted driving law took effect on April 4, 2023, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement issued warnings for six months for violations as part of the effort to educate and help motorists adapt to the new law.
See the Distracted Driving Fact Sheet for full details on the new distracted driving law.
With very few exceptions, anything that involves using, holding, or supporting a device while driving is off limits.
This could include:
- Dialing a phone number, Updating, or browsing social media, Browsing the internet,
- Playing games, Sending a text message voice to text is legal via the “hands-free” method,
- Video calls or FaceTime, watching videos, and GPS/navigational displays are allowed,
- Recording or streaming video
Penalties Beginning October 5, 2023
Law enforcement will start issuing citations for violating this law.
- 1st offense in two years:2 points assessed to driver’s license, up to a $150 fine.*
- 2nd offense in two years:3 points assessed to license, up to a $250 fine.
- 3rd or more offense in two years:4 points assessed to license, up to a $500 fine, possible 90-day suspension of driver’s license.
- Fines doubled if the violation occurs in a work zone.
* Completion of a distracted driving course can help avoid fines and points.
Since the law took effect on April 4, approximately 3,997 distracted crashes have occurred, and 3,132 distracted driving violations have been issued. So far, in 2023, 6,281 distracted driving crashes and 5,189 distracted driving violations were issued, according to the State Highway Patrol’s Distracted Driving Dashboard. “Crashes are down about 20% in relation to distracted driving from what we’ve seen last year at this time,” State Highway Patrol Lt. Nathan Dennis said.
The reason behind issuing citations, Dennis said, is about educating Ohio drivers and getting them to understand the dangers behind distracted driving and why the change in law was necessary. The hope for the law is for motorists to start making behavior changes and minor modifications to their driving habits. In order to track distracted driving, the State Highway Patrol won’t only be patrolling from the streets but from the sky as well. Penalties for Ohio’s distracted driving law start this week. Here’s what you need to know Kayla Bennett Columbus Dispatch Published 10:00 p.m. ET October 1, 2023 |Updated 7:23 p.m. October 2, 202
The Law The new distracted driving law can be found in Section 4511.204 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Businesses and Employers
Be sure to communicate your company’s policy and guidelines on Distracted Driving Law. Beware of the new law; law enforcement has start issuing citations for violating this law.
Learn about workplace policies to reduce distractions while driving.
Promote Your Employer Policies:
The leading cause of work-related death is motor vehicle crashes. One of the easiest ways to prevent work-related injury and death is to guide employees on the acceptable use of mobile devices while driving. While hands-free driving isn’t risk-free, researchers increasingly focus on visual-manual tasks as the most distracting. These tasks take eyes off the road and hands off the wheel, including dialing, scrolling, and reading and sending texts or emails (as well as eating and programming GPS devices—see the National Distracted Driving Coalition white paper for a review).
For some businesses, one-touch policies may be more effective than no-touch ones (e.g., long-haul truckers, jobs in which drivers need to be in touch with dispatchers, etc.). We have included examples of both no-touch and one-touch policies below.
https://usnddc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Phone-use-policy_One-Touch_9.pdf
https://usnddc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Employer-Phone-Use_NoTouch_Policy-10-1.pdf
See the Distracted Driving Fact Sheet for full details on the new distracted driving law.
EVEN IF you can, that doesn’t mean you should. Looking at your cell phone while stopped at a light can potentially endanger your family, friends, and neighbors. Drivers have a responsibility to watch for people crossing the street or other drivers and bicyclists who haven’t yet cleared the intersection. Ohioans are counting on you to pay attention.
Cited Resources:
Ohio State Highway Patrol
Driver Distraction Crash Risk
https://statepatrol.ohio.gov/dashboards-statistics/ostats-dashboards/distracted-driving-dashboard
Ohio Department of Public Safety /ODOT
Ohio Department of Public Safety
Promote Employer Policies
https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/phonesdown/employer-policy
Penalties for Ohio’s distracted driving law start this week. Here’s what you need to know
Kayla Bennett Columbus Dispatch Published 10:00 p.m. ET October 1, 2023 |Updated 7:23 p.m. October 2, 2023
Driver Distraction Crash Risk in Naturalistic Driving Studies
A Literature Review Studies
April 14th 2022
National Distracted Driving Coalition white paper
Communications Policy for Transportation
One-Touch
National Distracted Driving Coalition white paper
Communication Devices Workplace Policy for Employers
No Touch
