Legislature considers distracted- driving bills

DAYTON — The Ohio Legislature is considering two bills aimed at curbing distracted driving after records found that talking, texting and web surfing contributed to nearly 14,000 crashes in the state last year.

House Bill 95 would make distracted driving a secondary offense with a maximum $100 fine, the Dayton Daily News reported.

House Bill 293 targets younger motorists by establishing a 9 p.m. curfew for driving unless accompanied by an adult and extending the learner’s permit period from six months to a year.

Some Ohio residents know the results of distracted driving firsthand and told the newspapers stories of loss and heartbreak.

Sharon Montgomery was injured and her husband killed in 2000 after a driver on a cellphone crashed into a car that hit their vehicle at an intersection in Licking County.

Montgomery said her husband telling first responders to “take her first” were the last words she heard him speak.

Traffic deaths increased nationally in 2015 following a five-decade downward trend, and experts say distracted driving shares part of the blame.

More than 35,000 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2015. Nearly 10 percent of those deaths involved distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.