City council passed texting while driving ban

  

The new Toledo law will take effect January first.

Toledo City Council has passed a ban on texting while driving. The vote passed 10 to 2 with council members Michael Ashford and Lindsay Webb voting against it. The new Toledo law will take effect January first.

We spoke with a crash victim's sister and the Wood County sheriff. Each has a completely different view on the proposed legislation.

April Griesinger of Toledo lost her sister a little over three weeks ago. Ashley Snyder, 20, was driving on Airport Highway in Swanton when her vehicle slammed into the back of a stopped-semi waiting to turn. Family members believe Snyder was reading a text message.

"It's a distraction and people are losing their lives over it or hurting other people."

Griesinger supports legislation under consideration in Toledo to make it a minor misdemeanor if caught texting while driving.

"People are still going to do it until they really see that - hey I can get a fine if I do this, or possibly jail time."

It may be surprising, but the Buckeye State Sheriff's Association is against text messaging bans. Wood County's sheriff is speaking on the group's behalf. He calls the proposal "feel good legislation" that is difficult for law enforcement agencies to prove.

Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn says, "It is virtually impossible to enforce. When someone is texting there's no record of how long or when they typed the information in. The only record that they can subpoena is when they hit the send button that sent a text."

The sheriff's association says traffic laws already in place should catch distracted drivers.

"We already have the laws on the books for all the things that may have drawn our attention to that driver. Were they weaving? Which is against the law. Were they driving left of center? Which is against the law. Did they run a stop sign? Did they roll through a red light?"

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