Mahoning and Trumbull interstates target of distracted driver enforcement
A stretch of interstate highway through Mahoning and Trumbull counties is one of the first safety corridor crackdowns on distracted driving in the nation.

A stretch of interstate highway through Mahoning and Trumbull counties is one of the first safety corridor crackdowns on distracted driving in the nation.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is partnering with the Ohio Department of Transportation in targeting a 17-mile section of I-76 and I-80 between State Routes 534 and 193. It's called a Distracted Driving Safety Corridor.
ODOT and the state patrol said the idea to create a safety corridor is an effort to reduce the growing problem of distracted driving.
From 2016 to 2017 the number of reported distracted driver fatalities has doubled. Last year alone in Ohio, there were 4,000 distracted driving crashes that claimed 51 lives.
The 17-mile stretch of interstates through Mahoning and Trumbull counties was selected because of its high traffic volume and the number of fatal and injury accidents.
Within the stretch, there was 127 injury crashes and three fatal crashes in the last two years and has one of the highest percentages in the state for truck traffic.
On average, 40,000 to 60,000 people travel on this section of highway, one-third of traffic being semi trucks.
The State Patrol said they want to educate those people who would never think of drinking and driving but put themselves and others at risk by texting behind the wheel.
Texting and driving is a secondary offense for adults, so just like a seat belt violation, there needs to be some other reason to pull a person over.
As far as other distractions go, there's no Ohio law against eating or fidgeting with the radio while driving, but officials believe by cracking down on lane violations and other signs of a distracted driver, the message will come across.
Signs will alert drivers when they enter the corridor and troopers will be focused on stepped up enforcement of traffic violations.
"If somebody is tracking out of their marked lanes or following a vehicle too close or they drive off the roadway for no reason, those are some of the violations we look for, " said Lt. Jerad Sutton, Commander of the Canfield Past of the Highway Patrol.
A guest speaker at the announcement was Tina Yanssen, who pushed for anti-texting laws in Ohio after her father was struck and killed by a distracted driver in 2010 while taking his daily walk.
She said school shootings are getting a lot of attention, as they should be, but there's another disturbing highway statistic.
"We lost 3,600 students to texting and driving," said Tanssen.
Federal dollars will help pay for extra hours of enforcement.
This is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and officials are hoping all drivers will think, it can wait.