Mahoning Valley - Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers are riding through Mahoning County this week with a clear target: distracted drivers on Route 224.

The Patrol has deployed five motorcycle units to Boardman, concentrating on Route 224 and parts of Interstate 680 and 76 through Friday.

OSP said the motorcycles give troopers a clear view into vehicles, allowing them to spot drivers holding their phones and make quick stops in heavy traffic.

“They’ll usually have it [cell phone] up in front of their face, either texting or talking or looking at GPS,” said Sgt. Nicholas Diehl with OSP Columbus.

The crackdown is data-driven.

Data shows Route 224 is Mahoning County’s top crash corridor, logging more than 3,100 crashes within the past five years. 

From 2023 to September 2025 alone, 224 has recorded 1,491 crashes, including 101 directly tied to distracted driving.

By comparison, Interstate 680 has seen 693 crashes in that same span.

“It’s one of our highlighted crash areas throughout the state,” said Lt. Benjamin Dennison, post commander of OSP Canfield.

Dennison said congestion, traffic signals and heavy business development along the corridor all add to the dangers when drivers are not paying attention.

“A lot of people are just simply taking their eyes off the road as they’re traveling down these roadways," he said, "With the traffic congestion, the red lights, the businesses, it’s just putting another, creating another issue as far as traffic goes." 

On Tuesday alone, troopers made nearly 200 stops. 

“It’s education," Dennison added,  "We want to see the change in behavior. We can write tickets for things all day. We can go out and stop thousands of cars. But if we continue to have the same problems and crashes, we’re not, we’re not really working to our goal to make the roadways safer."

The enforcement campaign continues through the end of the week, and it's all part of a statewide effort to bring down crash fatalities.