Drivers texting in Toledo face ticket from city police

Officers can cite motorists distracted by their devices

Toledo police officials announced Wednesday they will pursue an aggressive approach toward texting motorists, now citing drivers with an elevated offense under state law.

Toledo police Chief George Kral uses a cell phone to demonstrate the danger of texting while driving during a news conference Wednesday at the Safety Building.

Ohio’s “driving while texting” statute carries several exceptions and, as a secondary offense, requires officers to  witness another violation before pulling over the distracted motorist.

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Chief George Kral outlined the new program during a news conference at the downtown Safety Building. City officers can ticket distracted drivers under a separate, primary-offense statute: “operation in willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property,” a minor misdemeanor violation on the first offense.

Officers could issue the citation when electronic devices divert drivers’ eyes off the road or distracted to the point of threatening others’ safety. Police say talking on the phone typically would not meet this standard, but typing directions into a mapping application while driving could.

Chief Kral described three types of distracted driving: looking away from the road, removing hands from the steering wheel, and paying attention to something else.

“When someone is driving and texting, they’re doing all three at the same time,” he said, noting a vehicle traveling at 40 miles per hour travels nearly 100 yards in 5 seconds.

“Now, let someone look me in the eye and tell me that keeping your head down, driving a hundred yards without looking out of the windshield, is not driving with willful disregard for the safety of others,” the chief said.

In the vast majority of these cases, texting motorists typically commit other primary traffic offenses, such as weaving through lanes, resulting in other citations, he added.

Chief Kral said he was not aware of any other police department outside the area taking a similar approach. 

From 2012-15, more than 13,000 traffic deaths nationwide were blamed on distracted driving. Drivers are 23 times more likely to crash if texting, he said.

Jamie Blazevich, the Lucas County Traffic Safety Program director, said texting while driving is a selfish act that threatens harm, and phone applications exist that can restrict notifications.

“When we look down at the phone, we are concerned about ourselves and ourselves only, not anybody else on the road,” she said.

Officials from several area law enforcement agencies, including Sylvania Township police and the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, said they will instruct officers about the program and potential citations.

In an interview, Toledo-based traffic defense lawyer Andrew Bucher said Toledo’s approach could be problematic for law enforcement, especially if the cited driver is not committing other egregious violations.

A statute is in place for texting while driving, and the city could pass a strengthened ordinance.

“They have their positions, but it’s going to be a factual case-by-case basis,” Mr. Bucher said.

Contact Ryan Dunn at: rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @rdunnblade.