02/16/2011 - Texting drivers could face $150 fine if bill passes

Lawmaker from New Albany introduces legislation that would allow police to pull you over and issue a $150 fine. By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Bureau Updated 1:29 AM Wednesday, February 16, 2011 COLUMBUS — Motorists who text while driving could be pulled over by police and fined $150 if a bill introduced Tuesday becomes law. State Rep. Nancy Garland, D-New Albany, who unsuccessfully pushed the idea in the last legislative session, is pushing for the statewide ban. “A man in central Ohio who was texting while driving was recently indicted for vehicular homicide and assault charges in a crash that killed a teenage driver,” she said. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien says Daniel Jacobs, 56, of Reynoldsburg was indicted Thursday on single counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in the crash that killed Dalton Ludwig, 16, of Pickerington. O’Brien says Ludwig and his driving instructor were in a car July 1 on the shoulder of Interstate 270 when Jacobs ran off the road and struck them. The instructor was seriously injured. According to an affidavit, Jacobs told a police officer at the scene that “he was driving and trying to dial his phone when the accident occurred.” Garland said, “It is time that we recognize texting and driving don’t mix and I am reintroducing this legislation to ensure the safety of everyone using Ohio’s roads.” The bill would give a six-month grace period to allow for a transition as well as driver education. Some local governments — including Cincinnati and Columbus — have already passed bans on texting while driving. Garland said she wants to see a statewide ban rather than a patch work of regulations. Thirty states, including Kentucky and Indiana, have taken steps to curb cell phone use by drivers by enacting bans on texting while driving. Garland said Americans send 110 billion text messages a month, 10 times the number sent over the same period just three years ago and drivers are 20 times more likely to be involved in a crash or a near crash if texting or receiving text messages while driving. The Associated Press contributed to this report.