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Senate President Keith Faber
Safe Driving
Awareness Month
Life is full of distractions. Driving can offer a rare moment of escape
from the buzzing of our smart phones and the demands of the day. By
making the inside of our vehicles a refuge instead of a workspace, we
send the message to our children that distractions are a choice, not a
necessity. Too many Ohioans have learned from experience that picking
up the phone to text even for a few seconds can forever alter the
course of someone’s life.
September’s Safe Driving Awareness Month is a time to consider the
consequences of distracted driving and hold each other to a higher
standard. For the young drivers who are taking the steering wheel for
the first time as they return to school this fall, adults set the
standard for safe driving. When we check a work email from behind the
wheel, we send the message to the young people around us that the risk
we’re taking is acceptable.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Back in 2013, the devastating
impact of distracted driving made front-page news when Maria Tiberi,
the daughter of Columbus sports anchor Dom Tiberi, tragically died
after her car crashed into the back of a semi-truck. The Tiberi family
has taken Maria’s story into schools to share the personal impact of
distracted driving with the hope that other families might avoid the
pain they’ve endured.
The story of Maria Tiberi and thousands of other Ohioans inspired the
Ohio legislature to pass legislation designating every September as
Safe Driving Awareness Month. Though my colleagues and I have passed
legislation to promote safe driving by making texting and driving
illegal, we recognize that too many Ohioans are not getting the
message. For drivers under 18, a conviction for texting and driving can
result in a 60-day license suspension or $150 fine, but over 70 percent
of teen drivers admit to doing it anyway. The consequences are
sobering. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 13,261
drivers in Ohio crashed while distracted in 2015. Thousands were
seriously injured and 43 drivers and passengers lost their lives.
Every person whose life has been irreversibly impacted by distracted
driving knows that in one moment, everything can change. Consider that
a vehicle traveling at 55 mph will cross the length of a football field
in roughly five seconds; that is about the same amount of time it takes
to read the average text. If we are not willing to drive down a
football field blindfolded, common sense says that we also shouldn’t be
willing to spend an equal amount of time looking away from the road at
our phones.
September is an opportune time to focus on the risks of distracted
driving, but we must be vigilant every month of the year. If you’re the
parent of a young driver, remind them that even if they’re mostly
focused on the road, the driver in the car two lanes over may be out
hunting for Pokemon or taking selfies with the latest Snapchat filters.
None of us can control the actions of others, but we can make sure that
we and our family members are doing the best we can to stay alert and
protect ourselves on the road. Like the Tiberi family, we can share
stories that encourage our friends and neighbors to think twice about
picking up the phone or digging around for something on the car floor
instead of watching the road. By example, we can demonstrate to new
drivers that their lives are more important than whatever is competing
for their attention.
This September, I invite you to join me in promoting safe driving
practices in our local community. Let's commit to making our vehicles
an escape from distractions, not a place to catch up on work or text
messages. The lives of our family members, friends and neighbors are
too precious to take the risk
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