Though evidence of the dangers of distracted driving is widespread, the state of Ohio makes it only a secondary offense, which means a police officer cannot pull over a driver just for a visible distraction.
But things are different in Dublin. Here, distracted driving is a primary offense. And enforcement of the City’s law, along with a stepped-up education campaign, has taken aim at a persistent problem that can lead to injury or even death.
Distracted driving is a fourth-degree misdemeanor in the City, which means it does not require a court appearance. Drivers under 18, caught in the act, will face a $150 fine and a six-month license suspension for their first offense. Those over the age of 18 will face up to a $150 fine.
“The majority of our crashes are caused by drivers failing to control their vehicles or crashing into the car in front of them,” says Dublin Division of Police Sgt. Rod Barnes, who has taken a major role in the City’s distracted driving efforts. “We suspect most of those crashes are caused by distractions.”
To that end, a Dublin officer who observes distracted behavior can stop the driver on that basis alone, and hand out a citation or warning.
“That gives us the greatest capacity to impact the problem,” Barnes says.
Among the most dangerous actions that can be combined with driving is sending or receiving text messages. That’s why it’s the biggest focus of the City’s new law, which supplements a decades-old law requiring drivers to focus “full time and attention” on the road.
Drivers are best off when their eyes are on the road, their hands are on the wheel and their minds are on driving – and texting interferes with all three.
While texting is among the biggest threats to a driver’s attention, and a major area of emphasis for the City’s enforcement efforts, it’s not the only possible source of distraction. Talking on the phone, eating, changing songs or radio stations, searching for dropped items, looking up directions, playing games, browsing the Web, using the visor mirror for personal grooming such as shaving or putting on make-up, messing with various car features and even getting too involved in conversations with passengers can cause the driver’s focus to drift, Barnes says.
“I drive around Dublin every day and I see blatant examples of people who are driving (and) are distracted,” he says.
Weaving, drifting across lanes, stopping abruptly and sitting at a stoplight that has turned green are all signs that may clue in an officer to a driver’s distraction. An officer may also spot a driver whose eyes are downcast, likely at a cell phone.
“It only takes one second for someone to be distracted,” Barnes says. “You can strike a pedestrian, you can strike a cyclist, you can strike another car.”
To bring visibility to the issue, Dublin declared September as Stop Distracted Driving Month. The police worked with the Community Relations Department for educational efforts and also did a focused enforcement campaign in which all three shifts were tasked with keeping an eye out for distracted drivers in particular. By month’s end, about 200 cars were stopped for distracted behavior, most of them receiving warnings rather than citations, Barnes says.
Educational components included printed brochures, a public service announcement on Dublin TV, a town-hall meeting at the Dublin Community Recreation Center and visits to community high schools with the Ohio Department of Transportation’s distracted driving simulator.
Distraction is often suspected by police, particularly in rear-end accidents. Sometimes the culprit will own up to it; other times he or she will say something that suggests it to the officer. And in serious accidents, such as those that result in death or serious injury, the police can subpoena phone records to see if the driver was distracted by a call or text.
It’s not uncommon for the police to get calls from motorists who suspect another driver’s attention is impaired. If the caller is reporting in real time, the division will send an officer to the area immediately in an effort to intercept and observe, Barnes says.
The Impact of Inattention
Among the most prominent stories about the effects of distracted driving is the September 2013 death of 21-year-old Maria Tiberi, a 2010 Dublin Coffman High School graduate. Investigators determined that the crash that ended her life – she drove into the back of a stopped semi truck on I-270 in Hilliard – was caused by an unknown distraction. She wasn’t intoxicated, and she wasn’t using her phone.
Following the accident, Maria’s parents, Dom and Terri Tiberi, formed the Maria Tiberi Foundation and Maria’s Message. The former raises money for efforts to encourage defensive driving and the latter raises awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, both in the interest of preventing accidents like the one that claimed Maria’s life.
“When you look at the numbers and the statistics … the No. 1 killer of kids is car crashes,” Dom says. “I never wanted Maria to be a statistic. I don’t want any other kid to be a statistic.”
Distracted driving is an epidemic in the U.S., Dom says, and he hopes the efforts to fight it will save lives.
The foundation has used the money raised from donations to establish a scholarship at St. Brigid of Kildare School and to buy distracted driving simulators so young people will have a better idea of the dangers they face. Two are used for Maria’s Message awareness events; the other three were donated to ODOT.
The foundation hopes to buy an additional two simulators: one more for ODOT and one for the City of Dublin.
The simulator provides the user with either a virtual cell phone to which texts are sent frequently, or with text messages sent to his or her actual cell phone, and also puts a distracting passenger in the front seat. Dangers will present themselves suddenly – a deer sprinting across the road, for instance, or a small child chasing a ball into traffic – and if the user hits something or someone, he or she sees the repercussions, such as severe injury or a prison sentence, immediately.
“It’s about as realistic as you can imagine,” Dom says.
The simulator can also present a drunken driving experience or an ordinary driving experience for younger, less knowledgeable motorists.
The educational programming presented by Maria’s Message emphasizes a lot of the same things as the City’s campaign, and it also encourages young drivers to expect the unexpected – to be prepared in case another driver’s behavior suddenly presents a risk, Dom says. Connected to Maria’s Message is a pledge for people to sign a pledge affirming that they will keep their eyes, hands and minds focused on driving; more than 16,000 have signed thus far.
The Tiberis have two other children: a son, Dominic, and a daughter, Kelsey.
Driving the Point Home on … Young Drivers: To help prevent distractions among new drivers, state law forbids a driver under age of 18 from having more than one passenger in the car who is not a family member. They are also forbidden from having phone conversations of any kind.
Driving the Point Home on … Cell Phones: The prominence of texting in anti-distraction campaigns takes some of the focus off live conversations, but talking on the phone can be a major distraction, too. Use of a hands-free headset is no guarantee of safety; some studies suggest they’re no less distracting than handheld cell phones.
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
