Photo: Ohio Senate
Ohio state Sen. Andrew Brenner reportedly said this week that he “wasn’t distracted” during a recent meeting of the Ohio Controlling Board, in which he could be seen wearing a seatbelt and driving as he participated in the virtual gathering.
AsThe Columbus Dispatchreports, Monday’s meeting took placeon the same daythe Ohio legislature considered a distracted driving bill.
Brenner acknowledged to the theDispatchthat he had been driving during the meeting but said: “I wasn’t distracted. I was paying attention to the driving and listening to it. I had two meetings that were back to back that were in separate locations.”
He continued: “I’ve actually been on other calls, numerous calls, while driving. Phone calls for the most part but on video calls, I’m not paying attention to the video. To me, it’s like a phone call.”
He also said he was parked during the majority of the meeting but that when he was driving, “I was wearing a seat belt and paying attention to the road.”
PEOPLE’s request for comment from Brenner’s office was not returned on Tuesday.
Monday’s Ohio Controlling Meeting was held the same day members of the state legislature introduced a measure that wouldprohibit drivingwhile using an electronic communications device.
If passed, the bill would ban writing, sending or reading texts, viewing or taking photos, live streaming and using apps while driving. Those who are seen doing any of the above (or even holding their phones while driving) would be subject to a ticket.
Currently in Ohio, texting while driving is a secondary offense for adult drivers and cannot be the sole cause for a traffic stop.
In February, the state’s governor — Republican Mike DeWine — announced he would be included provisions in his budget proposal that aimed tostrengthen Ohio’s distracted driving laws.
“Ohio’s current laws don’t go far enough to change the culture around distracted driving, and people are dying because of it,” DeWine said in a release announcing the proposals. “Distracted driving is a choice that must be as culturally unacceptable as drunk driving is today, and strengthening our current laws will lead to more responsible driving.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reportedmore than 66,000 crashes between 2016 and 2020 that involved at least one distracted driver. Of those, the agency said 195 were fatal crashes that resulted in 212 deaths.
According to DeWine’s earlier statement, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri and Montana are currently “the only states without primary enforcement laws for adult drivers using wireless devices for text-based communications or for any purpose.”
source: people.com
