(Toledo, OH) The state highway patrol will focus on distracted drivers this month.
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the Ohio Highway Patrol says there's good reason for that.
There were just under 14,000 crashes statewide last year that had distraction involved. Texting and other distractions while driving led to 51 fatal crashes in 2017, nearly double the number from the year before.
Troopers emphasize sending or looking at a text message takes your eyes off the road for more than four-and-a-half seconds on average. That's is enough time to travel the length of a football field when driving 55 mph.
Locally, Toledo's mayor will join other community leaders at a press conference today to call distracted driving a public health issue that puts everyone's life in danger.