Ohio legislation would put ban on texting while driving

By the numbers

1 in 3 teens ages 16-17 — about 34 percent — say they have been texting and driving at the same time, according to a 2009 Pew study.

40 percent of those ages 12-17 say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.

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MIDDLETOWN — Legislation may eventually deliver a ban on texting while driving in Ohio. Although a higher percentage of adults are exchanging text messages, the ban may more directly affect teenagers who are behind the wheel.

A bipartisan House committee unanimously approved the legislation, House Bill 99, Wednesday night. The bill now awaits a floor vote, expected to take place in the coming weeks, according to Charles Willoughby, an aide to state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton. Combs is the chairman of the House Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.

If passed, the bill would then move on to the Ohio Senate.

Local teens have heard about the pending legislation.

“I think it’s a good idea to say we don’t need to text and drive,” said Cynthia Hendricks, a 17-year-old sophomore at Middletown High School who admits to sending more than 100 text messages per day. “But kids my age, we like our phones.”

Seventy-two percent of all teens — or 88 percent of teen cellphone users — are text messengers, according to a 2010 report by the Pew Research Center. Additionally, one in three teens were found to send more than 100 text messages a day.

Drivers who use handheld devices are four times more likely to get into injury accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.

If House Bill 99 becomes law in its current form, texting while driving would be considered a minor misdemeanor, punishable with a fine of up to $150. A six-month grace period would be implemented to give drivers time to adjust.

Texting ban may not achieve desired goal

Most agree that the intentions behind an Ohio House bill to ban texting while driving in Ohio are valid.

Whether the law can be properly enforced may be more debatable.

Teens and young adults don’t hesitate to ask themselves if texting while driving is something they’ll still be able to get away with even if a ban is set in place.

“You can’t have law enforcement everywhere all the time,” said Emily Smith, a 24-year-old senior at Miami University Middletown.

“It’ll probably be like speeding — everybody does it. Some get caught and some don’t.”

The bill passed out of a House committee last week and is now awaiting a vote of the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Some Ohio cities, like Columbus, already have a ban in place. Todd Thatcher, a legislative aide to state Rep. Rex Damschroder, R-Fremont, a co-sponsor of House Bill 99, said Columbus has had no trouble enforcing it.

“My comment to the whole enforcement argument is that in the first six months that the Columbus’ ban was in place, they pulled over 24 motorists for texting while driving,” he said. “That averages out to about one a week. Of those 24, 12 of them were actually intoxicated and cited for DUI offenses.

“I think that proves a couple things,” Thatcher said. “One, it’s enforceable. Two, it can have the potential to prevent motorists from engaging in other various dangerous activities.”

Thirty states, plus the District of Columbia, have already banned texting while driving. However, statistics included in a study released in September 2010 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggest these bans aren’t much of a deterrent to younger drivers.

“Among 18- (to) 24-year-olds, the group most likely to text, 45 percent reported doing so anyway in states that bar all drivers from texting,” the report states. “This is just shy of the 48 percent of drivers who reported texting in states without bans.”

Middletown High School senior Lindsay Sweatt noted that increased awareness may not necessarily be a good thing.

“Now you’re not just looking at your phone — you’re also looking in your rearview for a cop,” Sweatt said. “It adds a paranoia factor to it.”

Some phones are equipped with voice recognition software, which allows a user to speak into the phone and the speech is translated into a text message.

Supporters say it is better than looking down to text while driving, but detractors insist the technology is not without its flaws.

“It doesn’t work very well,” said Laura Paullin, 21. “And I’m just so used to texting anyway.”

Smith, Sweatt and Paullin all said they think laws should be in place, even if teens insist on texting while driving.

Kristy Duritsch, executive director of the Safety Council of Southwest Ohio, said it is important for young people to realize that even if texting is second nature, there is a time and a place for it.

“Would you want surgeons texting while they’re operating on you?” Duritsch asked.

“It’s your life in their hands, just as it’s everybody’s life is in your hands when you’re on the road.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or asedlak@coxohio.com.