Damschroder seeks bill to ban texting while driving

jackson@sanduskyregister.comFREMONTRex Damschroder is out of office and a private citizen these days, but the Fremont resident and former state representative still hopes that lawmakers will pass a law to ban texting while driving.Damschroder has a personal reason for wanting the bill to pass: A cousin of his wife was killed in an alleged distracted driving incident late last year.When he was a state representative, Damschroder tried to pass a bill that would have made texting while driving a primary offense.While it's illegal for any driver under 18 to use a phone while driving, an adult who is texting while driving can only get a ticket for "distracted driving" if he's pulled over for another offense. If Damschroder's bill had passed, a police officer who saw a driver texting would be able to pull the vehicle over and issue a ticket.After Damschroder's re-election bid failed in 2014 (he made a mistake in his paperwork when he filed for office, which in the end he wasn't able to overcome), his bill was picked up by state Rep. Michael Sheehy, D-Toledo. Sheehy's House Bill 88 also would ban cell phone use in school zones and active construction zones.The bill has been sitting for months, awaiting action, in the House Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee. The chairman of the committee, state Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, did not return calls from the Register last week and this week requesting comment on the bill."It was just about two months ago, I lost a family member to distracted driving," Damschroder said.A press release issued by the Ohio Highway Patrol says that James Vallance, 72, Gibsonburg, a cousin of Damschroder's wife, died after crash at 7:10 a.m. Nov. 10 on Ohio 51 in Woodville Township in Sandusky County.Vallance was driving his car north on the highway when a Ford Econoline van driven by Steven Squires, 17, Woodville, went left of center and hit his car. Squires and his passenger sustained minor injuries, but Vallance was pronounced dead at the scene.Lt. Matthew B. Meredith of the Ohio Highway Patrol said this week that while the crash is blamed on distracted driving, cell phones were not involved. Squires apparently was struggling to get the windshield wipers and the defroster to work, Meredith said.Damschroder said banning texting while driving would make state roads safer."The only way you're going to put teeth in the bill is make it a primary offense," he said. "There is no safe way you can text and drive."You have to take your eyes off the road. When you take your eyes off the road, this is where it drifts across," he said.Rex damschroder