YOUNGSTOWN -  Authorities are revealing more about plans to crack down on distracted driving along Interstate 680 in Austintown, Youngstown, and Boardman.

Officials from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Youngstown Police Department and the Ohio Department of Transportation are holding a news conference on Friday to detail plans to establish a distracted driving corridor along the interstate.

The 11-mile-long corridor is along I-680 between Lanterman Road and U.S. 224.

The purpose of the corridor is to continue to educate drivers on the importance of following distracted driving traffic laws and eliminating dangerous driving behaviors, according to the patrol.

The corridor will be marked with new signs alerting drivers as they enter and exit the stretch of highway.

From 2016 through 2020, there were 925 total crashes on the stretch of I-680. Of those, 263 resulted in injury, and six were fatal crashes.

Distracted driving is blamed for 27 of those crashes.

Ohio law bans all “electronic wireless communication device” usage for drivers under 18. Texting while driving is illegal for all drivers, but only as a secondary offense.

If distracted driving contributes to the commission of another moving violation, then enhanced penalties apply. These include an additional fee of $100 or attendance at a distracted driving safety course.

The enhanced penalties went into effect in 2018.