Msg 4 U: Text While Driving, Risk a Ticket

Ohio doesn't yet have a law banning texting while driving, but that doesn't mean police won't pull you over if they see you typing behind the wheel.

A law already on the books requires motorists to give "full time and attention" to their driving, and allows police to cite them for doing anything that distracts them -- texting, talking on a cell phone, combing their hair, eating, putting on makeup or fiddling with the radio.

In fact, Strongsville Police Chief Charles Goss doesn't see a reason for Ohio to even pass a law about texting while driving.

"I've never really understood the need to have all these breakout laws," Goss said. 

Goss said it makes no sense for some communities to ban texting, others to prohibit talking on a phone and others to choose a different distracting behavior.

"It's like you have to wonder, can I text in this city? Can I put on my makeup in this city? Can I shave when I drive here?" he said.

The answer to all is no, he said.

And in fact, Strongsville officers are cracking down on that kind of behavior as part of the chief's "intelligence-driven path" toward curbing crime by using their heads instead of their shoe leather.

Detectives are tracking crime based on geographic history and patrolmen are looking at crash patterns to enforce traffic laws.

Instead of random patrols, traffic officers are focusing on areas where and focusing acts that cause them, like following too close, driver inattention and inappropriate lane changes.

"We're looking at things that aren't traditionally enforced," Goss said. "Rarely is somebody pulled over and given a ticket for tailgating."

Goss said drivers often put down their phones and put both hands on the wheel when they see a police car.

But because he drives an unmarked vehicle, he sees more dangerous actions than uniformed patrolmen do.

"A lot of people are using both thumbs to text and steering the car with the palms of their hands," Goss said. "It's just so dangerous."