• Visual – turning around or looking out the window
• Physical – changing the radio station
• Cognitive – talking on a cell phone

• Motor vehicle crashes kill more teens than any other cause
• In the 15- to 20-year-old age group, car crashes cause 32% of all deaths (NHTSA)
• A 16-year-old is 20 times more likely to be killed in a crash than an adult (NHTSA)
• Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured (NHTSA)
• Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent (University of Utah)
• Eighty-six percent of teens know that distracted driving is dangerous – yet they do it anyway

Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 30 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, novice drivers are banned from texting in 8 states (Alabama, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia).

Driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone is banned in 9 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. 

CURRENT:
The State of Ohio does not have a statewide cell phone or hands-free driving law. However, Ohio does allow localities to create their own laws regarding driving and cell phone use.  Check with your local city or village regarding any bans on cell phone use while driving.

FUTURE:
Ohio House Bill 415 (sponsored by Rep. DeBose & Garland; cosponsored by Rep. Ujvagi, Domenick, Williams, B., Pillich, Celeste & Boyd) – passed in the Ohio House in 2010; moves on to Ohio Senate for final approval

If the bill were to become law, it would create the offense of text messaging while driving and drivers would be banned from reading, writing and sending of text messages while driving.

Text messaging while driving would become a primary offense subject to a $150 (maximum) fine.