Distracted driving citations are up across Ohio

• Texting while driving was already banned before 2023, but as a secondary traffic offense, meaning law enforcement officers could not pull over offenders for solely this reason.
• There are exceptions for holding a phone to your ear during calls and texting while stopped at a red light.

By the numbers: The State Highway Patrol averaged around a dozen distracted driving citations per day during the summer.

• That changed Oct. 5, when a temporary grace period for the new law ended.
• Troopers issued 49 citations that first day and a high of 86 on Oct. 10. The citation rate has generally stayed elevated since then.

Zoom in: In Franklin County, Interstates 270 and 70 have the highest number of total violations so far this year — at 49 and 40, respectively, as of Monday.

• They also have the highest number of distracted driving-related crashes this year at 34 and 16 to date.