A new ordinance, passed by Lakewood City Council in September, makes cell phone use while driving a primary offense within Lakewood city limits. First offenders could be charged with a minor misdemeanor, and fines could be as costly as $150.
Cell phone use while driving is currently considered a secondary offense in Ohio, meaning a driver can’t be pulled over and cited for texting alone.
“This is a really important step to make our community safer,” Lakewood Council President Sam O’Leary told News 5. “What we need in our society with respect to using a cell phone while driving, is a cultural shift the same way that we had to confront the dangers of drinking and driving.”
The new Lakewood law does offer up a couple exceptions, including the “one touch” rule — like when an Uber or Lyft driver needs to accept a fare or start a route on a navigation app.
Any other hands-free phone use, such as talking on speaker phone or using Siri, is allowed. And drivers are always allowed to use cell phones while a vehicle is parked.
North Royalton and Beachwood have already passed similar driving laws.
Sign up for Scene’s weekly newsletters to get the latest on Cleveland news, things to do and places to eat delivered right to your inbox.
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2019.
“What we need in our society with respect to using a cell phone while driving, is a cultural shift the same way that we had to confront the dangers of drinking and driving.”
Make the penalties the same as for drinking and driving, and distracted driving will decrease the same way drunk driving did. People will never do it voluntarily, but they will if the punishment is stiff enough. And thousands of lives will probably be saved.
Time to stop denying reality…idiots are killing people because they can’t wait to make or take a stupid phone call. Make them pay…big-time, for their stupidity.