PIQUA -- Texting, reading a book, eating, watching a movie perhaps, it's all stuff people do while driving. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers have seen it all and now they're joining forces with troopers in four other states hoping to catch distracted drivers.
On the hunt for distracted drivers, it did not take long for Sergeant Joe Gebhart to find one.
"The reason I'm stopping you is I had a turn arrow, and I went to turn left and you came and turned right in front of me and you almost hit me. You know the construction threw me off there," he said to the driver as our crew waited in the car.
"There's construction and he had his McDonald's next to him. Obviously it distracted him," Sgt. Gebhart explained.
The ticket is $109 for the moving violation. Troopers in Ohio and five neighboring states are on the ground and in the air, looking for people who aren't giving the road their full attention.
On our way to meet Sgt. Gebhart, we saw a woman with her dog on her lap, and another man who was texting at about 65 miles per hour. We don't have a distracted driving law but we do have texting while driving as a secondary offense, meaning you have do be doing something else wrong. Sgt. Gebhart says it typically goes hand-in-hand.
"You're going to see marked lane violations, you're going to see following too close, reckless operation, where somebody they're not paying attention - they're weaving, cutting in and out," said Gebhart.
Another person Sgt. Gebhart pulled over was a woman headed from Michigan to Florida. She was pulled over for doing 81 in a 65 MPH zone.
"I wouldn't want to pay 100 or 200 dollars out of my pocked either but if it's going to change their behavior and hopefully they're not injured or killed then to me, it's worth it," said Sgt. Gebhart.
The effort lasts all week.
