Cellphones have made it convenient for us to communicate from just about anywhere.

If you’re expecting an important call or text and you want to go for a walk, to the store or are headed to a sporting event, you can still stay connected. Or if you’re outside your home and need to make a call or send a text about something unexpected that’s come up, simply reach for your cellphone and take care of it promptly.

But when you’re driving a motor vehicle, your hands, eyes and mental attention should never be focused on using a traditional cellphone.

We’ve seen too many news stories from around the country about people who got into serious motor vehicle crashes — some of them involving fatalities — because of distractions related to cellphones. These incidents can occur when a driver takes his or her eyes off the road to read or send a text message, look at the source of an incoming call, or scroll to find information.

Plenty of public-service announcements in recent years have urged motorists to leave their cellphones alone while they drive. But texting, talking and scrolling on hand-held cellphones by drivers has continued to be a common practice.

So Ohio recently decided to take a tougher approach in an effort to reverse that trend.

On April 4, a new distracted driving law went into effect in Ohio, making it illegal, in most circumstances, for anyone to use or hold a cellphone or electronic device while driving.

The law includes a six-month grace period in which law enforcement will issue warnings as part of an effort to educate motorists about the law changes. Beginning on Oct. 4, law enforcement officers will begin issuing tickets to those found violating the law.

According to the Governor’s Office, Ohio’s strengthened law designates the use of cellphones and other electronic communications devices while driving as a primary traffic offense for all drivers and allows law enforcement to immediately pull over a distracted driver upon witnessing a violation.

Under the previous law, distracted driving was a primary offense only for juvenile drivers, preventing officers from stopping adult drivers unless those drivers also committed a separate primary traffic violation, such as speeding or running a red light.

According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, distracted driving has caused at least 60,421 crashes and 209 deaths in Ohio over the past five years. However, distracted-driving crashes are believed to be significantly underreported.

Kirtland Police Chief Brian McCallister said the new law is a necessary deterrent to help law enforcement keep the roads safe.

“I think the law is long overdue,” McCallister said. “Distracted driving is one of the primary causes for accidents today. All my officers have been given training on the law and have read the literature that the state has provided. We have also pushed literature out on Facebook for the community to see.

“I think law enforcement’s job, at this point, is to increase awareness and help motorists adapt through enforcement efforts while there is a six-month window to issue warnings for the violation,” McCallister added. “We will certainly be stopping motorists who are observed texting and driving. Our hope is that motorists are willing to change and reduce the hazards of distracted driving to themselves and others using the roadways.”

In regard to Ohio’s new distracted driving law, The News-Herald shares a similar desire with McCallister — that motorists are willing to change, and refrain from holding, looking at and using their cellphones while driving.

If Ohio drivers get the message, we believe that the law can have a positive impact on making the state’s roads safer, reducing the number of people injured or killed in crashes.