A reflection of Lisbon State Highway Patrol Sgt. Adam Shonk, complete with his trooper hat, bounces off the rear passenger side off this white Kia during his first distracted driving citation of the day along state Route 170 in St. Clair Township. There would be two more to come at that location within the next 90 minutes. Interestingly enough, even though troopers can remove their hats in the car, protocol is to wear them outside the car as an integral part of the uniform. (Photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)

COLUMBIANA — Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers have access to OStats dashboards –which allow users to access interactive statistics and maps using Ohio crash data –allowing them to target their enforcement efforts geographically since 2019, Sgt. Adam Shonk, assistant Lisbon post commander, explained during a ridealong recently with this reporter .

Nineteen different crash variables are included in the data, including hour, day, month, location and crash severity.

This information is viewable to any law enforcement agency in the state.

Additional dashboards chronicle high priority traffic safety issues, including OVI, work zone safety, distracted driving and safety belts.

The State of Ohio’s distracted driving law had prohibited drivers from using or holding a cell phone or electronic device a secondary offense. However, it became a primary chargeable offense in October 2023.

The law’s only exceptions were use of a hands-free device like speakerphone, wireless headset or electronic watch to make or receive calls; use of GPS (Global Positioning Services) if they start navigation before driving; while either stopped at a traffic light or parked on the road; or emergencies to contact first responders, law enforcement or a hospital.

The penalties for violation of the law escalate per offense. For a first offense, you can be fined up to $150 and two points on a driver’s license; second offense, $250 and three points; third or more offenses: $500, four points and a possible 90-day driver’s license suspension.

Fines are doubled if the violation occurs in a work zone.

Often offenders who complete a defensive driving course and show proof of completion to the court can have their fines and points waived for a first offense in the State of Ohio.

Use of mobile devices (even hands-free talking) is illegal if the driver is under age 18.

It is important to note that a driver taking their eyes off the road for only two seconds adds another roughly 140-150 get of travel distance on top of the football field distance it would normally take him to stop, insurance providers point out.

The noon hour was a hot bed for offenders along state Route 170 –state traffic laws are under Ohio Revised Code 4511.

Sgt. Shonk takes his responsibility to educate drivers about those laws try seriously, traveling to one of the county’s biggest problem areas for crashes and offenses — state Route 170 in St. Clair Township.

While sitting in MESO’s parking lot along state Route 170, Sgt. Shonk’s first offender, a 27-year-old former Wellsville resident happened by within the first 10 minutes in a white Kia. He had been nabbed while texting his work place, he had explained to the trooper.

Columbiana County has taken distracted driving very seriously, Shonk explained, pointing out state “Phones Down. It’s the Law” signage from an enforcement campaign that many offenders passed throughout the day.

He also explained that the state require troopers to include a 25 code on each citation written, which explains the offender’s race and gender.

DD offender in the white Kia was a white male, for example.

Twenty minutes later, distracted driver no. 2 — a white female — drove by a traffic stop. Shonk noted scrolling on a phone while driving counts as distracted driving, as she alleged she had been doing as he generated her typewritten ticket in his in-car computer system –printing it out nicely on thermal paper so she could make her court appearance in Lisbon.

Around 20 minutes later, distracted driver 3 (another white female) happened by and met up with Shonk’s cruiser in the Tim Horton’s parking lot.

Distracted driving offenses require an in-court appearance instead of many traffic violations where you can just send your fine and court costs in by your court date, Shonk added. Typically judges do waive the fine and points on a first offense when offenders complete the online training in the hope that the offender won’t repeat the behavior, he agreed.

After having racked up around 90 minutes on distracted driver duty in Calcutta’s retail district, Shonk moved out to the West Point area, where the OSHP receives quite a few complaints about traffic.

Around 1:44 p.m., he got his first speeder as he explained the technology in his car. Generally there are two possible speed detectors that police officers use in their arsenal: Radar and Lidar.

While radar uses radio waves and the Doppler effect, which, to compute how fast vehicles are traveling, Lidar uses infrared light and allows for more precise targeting in dense traffic scenarios.

Shonk had both at his disposal. In addition to the mounted radar speed detector, which had been outfitted as part of his car’s equipment, he also possessed a handheld Lidar unit close at hand that required him to hold it up and operate it through his open driver side window while parked.

His speeder was stopped near state Route 518 and state Route 13 in the parking lot of the Madison Township garage. The white teenage girl had been running late for her pedicure. So she had been maneuvering through the road’s many curves at 20-plus MPH above the speed limit. He ticketed her, causing a few tears, and went on his way.

Within the next 10 minutes, dispatch sent Shonk to look for a single-vehicle crash in the grassy median strip near the state Route 11 West Point exit. After looking for a while, the red Dodge Nitro was spotted a little further down. The driver explained to Shonk that he had just acquired the vehicle and was on his way to get the title paperwork changed over when an issue with the manual transmission caused the vehicle to coast off the road into the median. Shortly after Shonk arrived, his ride picked him up and Shonk cleared the scene.

The need to speed again drew his attention around 2:24 pm on state Route 11 just north of the Rogers exit. Shonk eventually executed a traffic stop at a gas station near the Lisbon/Rogers exit.

A highly agitated white female initially wouldn’t exit her vehicle as she continued to scream profanities at Shonk and other troopers through the almost hour-long stop.

Eventually they convinced her to exit her vehicle. Administered was a field sobriety tests and a portable breathalyzer due to her erratic behavior. Successfully passing all tests, the self-admitted county school teacher continued to express her displeasure about them them not only stopping her but citing her for going 84 in a 70 mph zone (she hadn’t reached the work zone yet) and a marked lanes violation.

While most drivers, even slightly annoyed if cited, are appreciative of troopers keeping the road safe, Sgt. Shonk explained that there are some like this woman who aren’t –even though she was an extreme case.

He explained that the biggest part of his job is educating drivers, so they don’t do things to cause injury to themselves or others and in the most extreme case, fatalities.

Being able to help people is perhaps his favorite part of the job.

Around 4:39 p.m., Shonk encountered a mobile hair salon truck that had non-functioning turn signals and brake lights. He executed the traffic stop and followed the white female driver off Route 11 to the Calcutta exit, where he make her way safely into the Walmart parking lot, where she planned to have the repair made.

Then there was a check on an abandoned Buick Encore roadside along state Route 11 and, minutes later, on a homemade trailer that had pulled off the Calcutta exit due to malfunctioning brake lights.

All in a day’s work for an Ohio State Highway Patrol officer.