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MOUNT VERNON — When the Ohio Department of Transportation erected safety corridor signs in mid-September, motorists on U.S. 36 were alerted there was going to be an increased focus on unsafe driving behaviors.
The signs designate a 12-mile stretch of U.S. 36 between Centerburg and Mount Vernon as a distracted driving safety corridor.
“This collaborative effort between the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Department of Transportation serves to protect motorists on US-36 by enforcing distracted driving violations and bringing awareness to the issue,” said Lt. Gurjit S. Grewal, commander of the Mount Gilead OSHP post. “It is necessary that a behavioral change is made by motorists to make US-36 safer for everyone, which starts by focusing on the road.”
Distracted driving is any activity that draws your attention away from the road. Some behaviors, such as texting, reaching into the back seat, or applying makeup, are obvious infractions. Others might be more subtle — changing radio stations, fiddling with comfort controls, or eating — but they can also lead to serious consequences, including death.
According to Morgan Overbey, public information officer for ODOT District 5, distracted driving corridors are primarily prioritized and selected based on crash frequency/severity and citation frequency. From 2018 to 2020, 179 crashes occurred on the 12 miles between Centerburg and Mount Vernon. That’s an average of almost 60 crashes a year and more than one crash a week.
“DD corridor selection discussions also include other factors such as traffic volumes, our ODOT construction program schedule, and where OSHP observes dangerous driving behavior on a relatively regular basis,” she told Knox Pages in an email.
According to OSHP statistics, law enforcement has issued 59 DD violations so far this year in Knox County. That number is up from the 31 violations in 2020.
In 2020, 52 Knox County crashes were related to distracted driving. Of the 189 crashes thus far this year, 25 are DD related.
U.S. 36 ranks first among Knox County roadways in both violations and DD-related crashes.
Enforcing unsafe driving behavior in the safety corridor falls to the OHSP.
“Troopers enforce violations that are most commonly associated with distracted driving, which include speed, marked lane violations, left of center, and failure to yield violations. In addition to these, troopers remain highly visible to discourage distracted driving, sending a clear message to motorists to focus on the road,” said Sgt. Brice Nihiser of the OSHP’s Public Affairs Unit via email. “An enhanced $100 penalty is applied to a citation when a motorist is cited for distracted driving.”
Nihiser said that motorists who receive a distracted driving citation have the option of taking an online distracted driving safety course to waive the enhanced penalty.
According to Overbey, Knox County’s safety corridor will be in place for about one year.
“We’ve seen great success building awareness through the use of distracted driving safety corridors in other areas of the state,” said ODOT District 5 Deputy Director Jason Sturgeon. “Corridors like this one aim to remind drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their attention on the road, making the road safer for everyone.”
Ohio’s first distracted driving corridor was on I-76/I-80 in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The corridor, active from April 2018 to April 2020, reduced fatal and injury crashes by 31%.
In addition to Knox County, ODOT established safety corridors in several other counties in September:
•A 12-mile stretch of State Route 161/State Route 37 between New Albany and Granville in Licking County
•A section of U.S. 33 from the Nelsonville bypass to Pleasant Hill Road
•A 21-mile stretch of State Route 2 in Erie County
To learn more about statistics related to distracted driving violations in Ohio, visit https://www.distracteddrivingdashboard.ohio.gov.
