CINCINNATI — At KMR Driving School in Mt. Health Heights, driving instructor Joey Ferguson has a cardinal rule when his students climb into the car.
"Give me your phone, because I'm going to put it in the back seat," he said.
Ferguson said he and owner Kalena Robinson take distracted driving very seriously as they mold the next generation and adults alike into responsible drivers.
"Anything that takes your eyes off the road is a distraction," Robinson said, but she said cell phone use was the most problematic distraction plaguing Ohio roadways.
Ferguson said he tries his best to break the phone's spell on young people because a friend of his lost his son to a distracted driving crash.
"He was on his cell," he said. "He dropped his phone. He went down to grab his cell phone and that was it."
Both were happy to see new data from Ohio State Highway Patrol indicating distracted driving crashes were down 55% year over year across the state and the rate of crashes had dropped significantly since a ban on phone use during most instances of driving took effect in October 2023.
National Safety Council Vice President of Government Affairs Jane Terry said a combination of having laws on the books, enforcement and awareness were key to reducing injuries and deaths associated with distracted driving.
"I have to say this is really great data to see," Terry said.
Terry said the drop was a great indication Ohio's new laws were working, but said more could be done with stricter laws that ban cell phone usage completely once a vehicle is in motion.
Robinson said that was her school's message regardless of the law.
"We've just got to reinforce that," said Robinson. "You'll be OK without a phone, you'll go a day without a phone, and we've got to lead by example."
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