After a year, Ohioans now have clear data to show the benefits of the state’s new distracted driving law. According to a report by the Columbus Dispatch, the law is being credited with an 11.6% decrease in crashes, a 19.4% decrease in fatalities — and a LOT more tickets issued.

During the past year, state troopers have handed out 25,310 tickets for distracted driving. That’s a 263% increase over the previous year.

That last data point might not sound like a good thing, but it is fantastic news.

Before implementation of the law on Oct. 4, 2023, there were 55,857 crashes attributed to distracted driving between 2019 and 2023. That included 185 fatalities, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Distracted driving can take many forms — texting, social media and streaming videos are just the start of what can take a driver’s attention away from the road. But during a year in which officers are now able to pull over drivers they see using, holding or otherwise physically supporting a cellphone, the consequences of those distractions have lessened.

But not everyone is getting the massage. On Thursday, a Cortland man died in a crash at Routes 5 and 305 when another driver rear-ended his vehicle, setting off a chain-reaction crash that involved six vehicles and injured two other people. An OHP report indicated that distracted driving is suspected to have played a role in the crash.

Nicholas Stoian, 38, of Cortland, did nothing wrong, but he’s dead because another driver apparently wasn’t paying attention behind the wheel. So there is still more to be done to prevent these tragedies.

“Ohio’s tougher distracted driving law is influencing better behavior behind the wheel, leading to fewer crashes and fewer deaths,” Gov. Mike DeWine said, according to the Dispatch.

That is progress, indeed. Won’t it be wonderful when enough drivers have gotten the message that they avoid driving distracted BEFORE officers have to stop them and issue a ticket?

Or before another innocent driver is killed on Ohio’s roads.