TrafficWise - December 17, 2018

Ohio State Highway Patrol sent this bulletin at 12/17/2018 10:40 AM EST

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December 17, 2018

FATAL CRASHES 2018 YEAR TO DATE MAP can be found here.
FATAL COMPARISON MAP can be found here.

Link to Traffic Safety Materials order form found at the bottom of the bulletin.

SENIOR DRIVERS USE 7 OR MORE MEDICATIONS

Many older drivers take medications known to raise the risk of a crash, a new study shows. It found that nearly 50 percent of older adults who drive use seven or more medications. Nearly 20 percent take what are called potentially inappropriate medications ... Most of these -- including benzodiazepines like Valium and older antihistamines -- can cause blurred vision, confusion, fatigue or clumsiness. That can increase a driver's risk of a crash by up to 300 percent, according to the study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

To read the full article from HealthDay click here.

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WEBSITE HAS GONE LIVE

The new Ohio Department of Health (ODH) website has gone live. This means that our stakeholders will need to delete any old links and recreate them. The straightforward way is to type www.odh.ohio.gov into a browser. Then you can choose “Know our Programs” and then “Alcohol and Drug Testing” from there we have links to resources and our calendar. We will continue to add FAQs and other resources.

HOLIDAY SEASON NATIONAL ENFORCEMENT MOBILIZATION - DECEMBER 14, 2018 - JANUARY 1, 2019

The Holiday Season is known for being merry and bright, but they’re also known for being the deadliest season when it comes to drunk driving. Every holiday season, lives are lost due to drunk drivers.

National advertising: December 13 - 31, 2018
Enforcement period: Dec 14, 2018 - Jan 1, 2019

Use these enforcement marketing tools, which can be distributed to fit your local needs and objectives. These materials will partner your office with other States, communities, and organizations on this drunk driving prevention initiative.

For social norming [Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving] holiday campaign materials, please click here.

SUPER BOWL

FEBRUARY 3

Super Bowl has become synonymous with drinking and celebrating, making roads on Super Bowl weekend dangerous. Using these materials, you can raise awareness in your community or with your officers to the heightened dangers of drunk driving on Super Bowl weekend.

These marketing materials should only be used in support of the Super Bowl LIII drunk driving prevention campaign period. Specific requests and questions regarding their use outside of this time period should be directed to Feedback-TSM@dot.gov.

To view campaign materials click here.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY - DRIVE SOBER

MARCH 17

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th, and we continually see a spike in drunk-driving crashes on this date every year.

Use these [enforcement] marketing tools to reach out to your community about the dangers of drinking and driving on this day. These materials will partner your office with other states, communities, and organizations on this drunk driving prevention initiative:

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over for enforcement, or
Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving for social norming.

ALCOHOL-IMPAIRED DRIVING – KEY FINDINGS FROM 2017 DATA

In 2017 there were 10,874 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving drivers with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher. This totaled 29 percent of all traffic fatalities for the year. (Note: It is illegal in every State to drive with a BAC of .08 g/dL or higher.)
An average of 1 alcohol-impaired-driving fatality occurred every 48 minutes in 2017.
The estimated economic cost of all alcohol-impaired crashes (involving alcohol-impaired drivers or alcohol-impaired non-occupants) in the United States in 2010 (the most recent year for which cost data is available) was $44 billion.
Of the traffic fatalities in 2017 among children 14 and younger, 19 percent occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes.
The 21- to 24-year-old age group had the highest percentage (27 percent) of drivers with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher in fatal crashes compared to other age groups in 2017.
The percentage of drivers with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher in fatal crashes in 2017 was highest for fatalities involving motorcycle riders (27 percent), compared to passenger cars (21 percent), light trucks (20 percent), and large trucks (3 percent).
The rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2017 was 3.6 times higher at night than during the day.
In 2017 among the 10,874 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, 68 percent (7,368) were in crashes in which at least one driver had a BAC of .15 g/dL or higher.

To view NHTSA’s Traffic Safety Facts – November 2018 – Click here.

QUESTIONS?

When is Click It or Ticket?

When is Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over?

When is Motorcycle Awareness Month?

To find the answers to these questions and more view the 2018-2019 OTSO COMMUNICATIONS CALENDAR by clicking here.

THE OHIO TRAFFIC SAFETY OFFICE PRESENTS:

PROSECUTING THE DRUGGED DRIVER

A FREE 6.0 HOUR CLE TRAINING

The course credits to be apportioned as 4.5 general hours and 1.5 professionalism/ substance abuse.

WHEN: January 15, 2019 (8:45 am- 4 pm)

WHERE: Ohio State Highway Patrol Training Academy, 740 E. 17^th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio, 43211

WHO: Municipal and County Prosecutors and Law Enforcement

HOW: This course is being hosted by the Ohio Traffic Safety Office/ Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor/ Ohio Drug Evaluation and Classification program, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Funding is provided in part or solely by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

REGISTRATION: Email Robert Wakefield at rwake@dps.ohio.gov by January 2, 2019. PLEASE DO NOT DELAY…. WE ANTICIPATE A GOOD RESPONSE. SPACE IS LIMITED TO 50. This course is free for prosecutors and law enforcement and has been approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 6.00 total CLE hours instruction. Please contact Holly Reese, Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor at hreesetsrp@ gmail.com or (330) 904-8971 with any questions.

To view the course description and agenda, click here.

Drug Recognition Expert Program

The DRE Program is a traffic safety program that focuses on the detection, apprehension and adjudication of drug-impaired drivers.

A Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) is a law enforcement officer highly trained to recognize impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol.

For more information, upcoming training dates and how to apply for this free training, please view the DRE Application by clicking here and School Information and upcoming classes by clicking here.

Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE)

ARIDE Classes are being offered free of charge through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy

Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) provides officers with general knowledge related to drug impaired driving and to promote the use of Drug Recognition Experts (DRE). Law enforcement officers will learn to observe, identify and articulate the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both, in order to reduce the number of impaired driving crashes.

For upcoming classes and how to register click here.

SANTA'S SAFETY MESSAGE TO OHIO'S DRIVERS!

With some help from our partners at ODOT.

Click here to view Santa’s message.

OHIO SAFETY PARTNERS SPREADING THE WORD - MIAMI COUNTY

The importance of partnerships cannot be overstated. With close to 11.7 million Ohioans in 88 counties in numerous jurisdictions, the question is how do we spread the traffic safety message?

Press releases highlighting community partnerships and with a combined voice increases public awareness of Traffic Safety. An example is provided by Vicky Knisley-Henry with the Miami County Safe Communities program as they focus on the Holiday Season. The Miami County's Press release can be found by clicking here.

Templates to assist in getting your message out, can be found in the "Talking Points" of this Bulletin along with the link to the 2018 - 2019 Communications Calendar. This way the traffic safety message we are trying to spread across Ohio is following the same theme in Adams County as it is in Wyandot and everywhere in between.

Bicycles, Pedestrians & Single Lane Roundabouts – Oh My!

Roundabouts are growing in popularity across Ohio because they are safer and more efficient than conventional intersections. Roundabouts reduce conflict points by eliminating left turns. In fact, roundabouts are one of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) proven safety countermeasures.

To view Issue 33 from our partners at ODOT, click here.

Below Pedestrian / Bicycle Deaths as of 12/03/2018.

TRAFFIC SAFETY MATERIALS

OTSO offers materials for numerous traffic safety campaigns, including impaired driving, restraint usage, distracted driving, and motorcycles. Utilizing the numerous materials found here can make an impact that will reach beyond your community. By raising public awareness YOU can help save lives. The order form can be found by clicking here.