New Ohio State Wide Texting Law

On June 1st Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed into law a state wide texting while driving ban. The law will go into force in 90 days from June 1st. This new law has tougher restrictions on those under 18. If you are under 18 you are not allowed to use a cell phone at all in a car when you are driving, hands free or not. Those over 18 are still allowed to make phone calls on their phones and are allowed to use the phone to dial while driving. They are just not allowed to send or read texts while driving. Also, for those under 18 the phone use law is a first offense meaning if a police officer sees a person under 18 using a phone while driving they can be pulled over and ticketed just for that offense. Those over 18 can only be ticketed for texting while driving if they were also pulled over for another violation such as speeding, running a red light, etc.

The law is a misdemeanor for drivers with fines up to $150. If you are under 18 you’re first offense could be $150 fine with a 60 day license suspension. A second offense for those under 18 is $300.

Legal Limits vs. Adequate Limits

Several auto insurance companies are doing a great deal of advertising about keeping you legal for less premium. What does that mean? All states including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Canadian provinces require you to carry Automobile Liability Insurance with certain minimum limits of coverage. In Ohio those limits are $12,500/person/$25,000/accident for Bodily Injury and $7,500 for Property Damage Liability. In Indiana and Kentucky the minimum limits are $25,000/50,000/10,000. In Wisconsin, for example, the minimum limits are $50,000/100,000/15,000. In some of the Canadian provinces the limit is $200,000. In short, if you carry the minimum required limits in a particular state or Canadian province, you are legally in compliance with that state or province's Financial Responsibility Laws.

But if you are legally in compliance, is that the same as adequate limits of liability protection? In our opinion, higher limits of protection are highly recommended to protect your assets, future earnings and driving privileges. For example, if you rear-end another party and cause serious bodily injury and/or property damage, your minimum limits Auto Policy might initially take care of the other person's medical bills, loss of income and pain and suffering and/or repair their car, but if it is not enough, the injured party could come after you for more. They could tie up your assets, you future earnings, your driver's license and car registration, etc. for long time. Even if you file bankruptcy they could still make it difficult for you to function while you are going through the process.

So what are adequate limits? Unfortunately there is no formula for determining this. With your home you can insure it for the replacement cost of the house using various estimation tools plus discussions with architects and contractors can help you determine the proper amount. There is no such simple formula to determine how much liability insurance to carry, but it is safe to say that Ohio's limits of $12,500/25,000/7,500 are not adequate even if they are legal in the event of a serious automobile accident. We would suggest limits of no less than $100,000/300,000/100,000 or $250,000/500,000/100,000 for your consideration. In addition, if you desire and need higher limits, buying a Personal Umbrella Liability Policy with limits of at least $1,000,000 or higher is highly recommended.

In Fey Insurance’s opinion, the minimum limits of protection imposed by states and the Canadian provinces are a start vs. no insurance at all, but they are not adequate to protect you in the event of a serious automobile accident.

Cincinnati to have a Ban on Texting While Driving

On Wednesday Sept 8^th Cincinnati’s City Council voted to ban texting (reading or writing) while driving in Cincinnati, OH. This new law carries a $100 fine. The offense is a primary offense meaning you can be pulled over if all you are doing is violating the texting ban. The new law is scheduled to go into effect in the next 30 days.

You can still use your phone to make calls and you can still use portable GPS Navigation Systems. One thing to make note of on the GPS devices is that you are only allowed to input information into the device if the vehicle is not moving and is out of the way of traffic. The extra stipulation on use of GPS Systems leads me to believe you can be pulled over for inputting data into the device while you are still driving.

Our Cincinnati insurance agency office wanted our clients to know this information so that they can be safe and legal when driving around the Cincinnati, OH area.

Ohio Booster Seat Law

Back in October the Ohio lawmakers put into law a requirement for children to be in vehicle booster seats until a child is 8 years old or 4 feet, 9 inches tall. The prior law was if a child was 4 or under and weighted less than 40 lbs they had to be in a federal approved car seat. After that, they were free to sit in a car with out any aid.

This new law that was past also had a grace period that lasted until this past April but now that the grace period is over tickets are starting to be handed out along with a fine. Fines can range from $25 to $75 per incident. One thing to note, this citation is a secondary offense which means you can’t be pulled over just for violating the booster seat law. You would first have to be pulled over for some other violation.

The reason for this change is that seatbelts, if a child is not in a booster seat, can cause serous injury to children less than 8 years old or smaller than 4 feet, 9 inches. The booster seat helps to place the seatbelt in a safer position on the child.

Texting

Recently this article was posted as an editorial in the April 5th, 2010 Toledo Blade. We here at Fey Insurance Services thought it might be of interest as it could be something that affects all of us on the road.

Article published April 05, 2010Time to ban texting
The Michigan Senate took a fairly dramatic step a few days ago. Lawmakers had earlier voted to make the highly dangerous practice of text messaging while driving illegal - but only as a secondary offense, meaning police could only cite you for it if they first pulled you over for something else.

Since anybody who sees flashing red lights is apt to stop texting immediately, this meant the law would be little more than eyewash. But the GOP-controlled Senate reversed itself, voted to make texting a primary offense carrying an immediate fine, and sent the bill back to the House.

Why the change of heart? Senators were shaken by a teenager in Ottawa County who was killed when he took his eyes off the road to text-message his girlfriend. The boy was far from the first victim; three years ago, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was sending a text message when he crashed into a flatbed truck and was instantly killed.

The danger of this phenomenon may not be sufficiently understood by lawmakers in their 40s and 50s, who usually aren't part of the text-message generation. But it is increasingly how young people communicate, and being on the road with drivers looking down to punch a tiny keyboard on their cell phones ought to scare anyone who isn't in a Sherman tank.

The text-messaging bill's main sponsor, state Rep. Lee Gonzales (D., Flint), knows what that means. He introduced the legislation after his pregnant daughter-in-law was rear-ended by a woman punching away on her cell phone. Fortunately, she and the baby both survived.

The day before the Michigan vote, the Ohio House passed a similar bill that would make texting a primary offense, though it would not allow police to issue fines for six months. The Ohio Senate and the Michigan House should speedily ratify the work of their respective other chambers, and join 20 other states that have banned the practice.

Thanks to seat belts and safer cars, highway deaths in the nation last year were lower than in any year since 1954. It would be tragic if we allowed modern communications technology to send the death toll spiraling skyward once again.

Lights On Ohio Drivers!

On Friday, January 1, 2010 a new law goes into effect in Ohio requiring that you turn on your lights when your wipers are on in rain, snow or fog. Failure to do so could result in a ticket and a $100 fine. A new state of Ohio law, which took effect this year, included the mandatory lights-on provision, but it allowed law enforcement to issue only warnings for six months. On Friday, the 1st of January 2010, the warnings will be replaced by tickets. The law requires drivers to turn on their headlights anytime the windshield wipers of the vehicle are in use because of precipitation.

To be safe, turn on your lights anytime there is precipitation of any sort of the windshield.

The violation is a secondary offense meaning a motorists cannot be stopped or cited only for failing to turn on their lights, but it can be tacked on to another violation such as a speeding violation in the new year.

There are two other motor vehicle laws included. One requires drivers to change lanes or slow down when there is a tow truck along the side of the road. Failure will be a third-degree misdemeanor with up to $300 fine plus court costs. The second change is to increase the speed limit for trucks from 55 mph to 65 mph on most Ohio interstates.