TrafficWise - January 22, 2019

Ohio State Highway Patrol sent this bulletin at 01/22/2019 11:00 AM EST

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January 22, 2019

FATAL CRASHES 2019 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.

SAVING LIVES BY GIVING ROOM TO OHIO'S FIRST RESPONDERS AND ROAD MAINTENANCE WORKERS

Recently Ohio has seen an increase in traffic crashes involving emergency and road maintenance vehicles while performing their duties on the side of the roadway. With the winter weather, passing these stationary vehicles makes it even more important to share the road by moving over.

Ohio's Move Over Law (O.R.C. 4511.213) requires drivers approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, including road service vehicles, traveling in the same direction, to vacate the lane closest to if safe and possible to do so, or slow to a speed safe for road, weather, and traffic conditions. Also included in the law are road maintenance vehicles.

To view ORC 4511.213 click here.

WCMH-TV Columbus, Ohio aired a recent example of these dangers and can be viewed by clicking here.

NEW CRASH REPORT TOOK TAKE EFFECT JANUARY 1

The Ohio Crash Report is typically revised every 5-10 years. A federal mandate that becomes effective in April of 2019 requires mandatory changes to state crash report forms nationwide. The changes include classification of injury severity in the crash. The changes are current with Model Minimum Uniform Standards (MMUC) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This update also includes other changes based upon current traffic and safety trends in Ohio.

The new crash reporting forms are available for order at www.publicsafety.ohio.gov. Please allow for 2 business days to process your order plus shipping time. The crash manual, report sample pages and a training video are also available on the Public Safety website. Please refer to the area on the main page under Traffic Crash Information, as shown below.

All agencies in the state of Ohio are required to begin using the new form on January 1, 2019. If you currently use the Ohio Law Enforcement Information System (OLEIS), the software automatically received a program update on January 1. If OLEIS did not receive the update, please contact our service desk at servicedesk@dps.ohio.gov. If you use a third party service, please contact your vendor to ensure compliance with the new form.

IMPORTANT REMINDER - INTOXILYZER 8000 OPERATORS

Please complete your annual proficiency test. AS OF DECEMBER 21, 2018 THERE WERE 1,074 PERSONS WHO NEED TO DO A TEST OR RESTEST. Instructions for the proficiency test are found on the Ohio Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Testing website, under the Publications and Forms heading.

If you are unsure if you have conducted a successful breath alcohol test or proficiency on the I-8000 last year (BrAC result reported, no exceptions occurred), please do a proficiency test as soon as possible. The OAC deadline for an I-8000 proficiency is December 31, however the earlier the program receives a proficiency, the better. You may use any I-8000 in Ohio to complete the proficiency test.

Please remember to check your emails. A failed proficiency test will result in an email for the person or to their department if an email address can be found by ODH. Contact for Ohio Highway Patrol personnel will made through their dps.ohio.gov address for return email address. Troopers should especially check their emails for failed proficiency test.

In addition, if an operator has NOT run a test in 2018 and/or can confirm their card is valid, they should NOT run a test in 2019. If they run a test with an expired card, the Ohio Department of Health will have to notify them AND the prosecutor's office that the test in not valid.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Ray Scharf or Jeanna Walock if you have questions. BADT@odh.ohio.gov or (614) 644-4609.

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.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April 9-15, 2019 / National Enforcement Mobilization

U Drive - U Text - U Pay is a campaign centered on aiding law enforcement officers in their efforts to keep distracted drivers off the road. Distracted driving is a first offense in many states and continues to gain recognition across the nation as a deadly problem.

This campaign is targeted to men and women 18 to 34 years old with a skew toward women.

Use these law enforcement campaign materials to raise awareness in your community about the consequences of texting while driving. These enforcement materials do not focus on social norming - for those materials, please refer to:

One Text Or Call Could Wreck It All campaign (social norming)
General/Evergreen Resources

For more information, facts, and toolkits, please visit www.Distraction.gov

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.

ROLLING STONED : A CRASH COURSE IN DUID

THE KENTUCKY, OHIO AND WEST VIRGINIA TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE PROSECUTORS PRESENT:

ROLLING STONED: A CRASH COURSE IN DUID

A FREE 14 HOUR CLE TRAINING

WHEN: February 20- 22, 2019

WHERE: Huntington Police Dept., 675 10^th St., Huntington, West Virginia, 25704

WHO: Prosecutors and Drug Recognition Experts

HOW: This course is being hosted by the Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors and the Drug Evaluation and Classification program. Funding is provided in part or solely by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The course, CLE credits, mileage and lodging will be covered for participants.

REGISTRATION: Email Robert Wakefield at rwake@dps.ohio.gov by January 10, 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 Courts of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia Commissions on Continuing Legal Education for 14.00 total CLE hours instruction (12.5 General and 1.5 Ethics/ Professionalism). Please contact Holly Reese, Ohio 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, 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.

OHIO LTAP is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the following free sessions of Designing and Operating Roads for the Aging Population:

February 26 – Cleveland Click here to register.

February 28 – Dayton Click here to register.

Pre-registration is required, per the links provided above. Registrations will be processed in the order they are submitted online.To access a PDF flyer for this course topic, click here. If you have any questions regarding the online registration process, please contact Ohio LTAP by phone at (614) 387-7359 or (877)-800-0031 (Toll Free in Ohio) or by email at: ltap@dot.ohio.gov

On behalf of ODOT’s Highway Safety Program, ODOT is pleased to announce the following free half-day sessions of GCAT Computer Training for Local Agencies:

April 17 – Lebanon Click here to register.
May 15 – Marietta Click here to register.
June 13 – Columbus Click here to register.
July 24 – Akron Click here to register.
Sept. 24 – Bowling Green Click here to register.

GCAT (GIS Crash Analysis Tool) uses GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to produce data that is spatially located (valid latitude/longitude). The purpose of GCAT is to provide a convenient highway safety crash analysis tool for ODOT, MPOs and county engineers.

To access a PDF flyer for this course topic, click here.

Who Should Attend? – GCAT access is available to the following agencies: county, city, village, township, MPOs, ODOT, law enforcement and safety study consultants.

To view all courses currently available for LTAP enrollment, click here.

If you have any questions regarding the online registration process, please contact Ohio LTAP by phone at (614) 387-7359 or (877)-800-0031 (Toll Free in Ohio) or by email at: ltap@dot.ohio.gov

DISTRACTED DRIVING - SUPER COP

Columbus Police Officer Keith Conner

The following is from the January issue of AAA Magazine by Bill Purpura

Columbus Police Officer Keith Conner is a 19-year law enforcement veteran that you’re either going to love or hate.

If you’re among the throngs of motorists who drive distracted with a cell phone, Conner will be your worst nightmare. If, however, you stand with those who are sick and tired of the carnage left behind by those drivers, Conner is your knight in shining armor.

This Columbus police officer holds the distinction of issuing the most distracted-driving citations and warnings of any police officer in any agency in Ohio, according to the Columbus Division of Police. In the past two-and-a-half years, Conner has issued 661 citations and more than 4,400 warnings to distracted drivers, all while carrying out his regular duties as a Columbus police officer.

Conner’s mission to put a dent in the distracted driving problem began in June 2016 when an elderly gentleman texting on a flip phone ran him off the road and into a bus stop of waiting riders. Later that same day the officer encountered a female distracted driver.

“I could see her coming; her head was down the entire time,” recalled Conner. “She didn’t even catch the curve and she just came right at me head on. “I had two experiences in one day, and I just said enough’s enough. It’s gotten so far out of control. People are dying.”

Conner started doing some research after his two near misses. The statistics he found on the National Transportation Safety Board website revealed that every day on America’s roads nine people are killed and 1,300 are being injured or seriously maimed due to distracted drivers.

Conner doesn’t believe those numbers.

“They’re saying one out of every four accidents is cell phone related,” said Conner. “I think it’s probably 50 percent or more. That is my professional opinion, because for someone to admit it to a police officer for the crash report is fairly unheard of.”

What Conner sees people doing while driving “is absolutely amazing.” They’re caught watching TV, texting and watching pornography on their cell phones. The majority of distracted drivers are going through their Facebook accounts, according to Conner.

“It absolutely makes me mad,” he said. “It’s like everyone I catch on Facebook, I’m like, ‘You can’t wait to see your friend’s wedding photos until you get home? Really?’ Frankly I’m very short with the people, and I say, ‘Your life and my life are worth more than your friend’s wedding photos.’”

Wonder how Conner sees what he sees? According to the officer, when he has time to patrol the streets, he is looking for those driving with their head down. He’ll then walk up on the passenger side while the driver is stopped at a light. His body cam captures it all.

The infraction comes with a $192 citation. Those who choose to fight the ticket should know that Conner boasts of a near perfect conviction rate thanks to his body cam.

Conner is tough on distracted drivers, especially the ones he encounters who have children in the car.

“You would be surprised at how many parents I get with 13-, 14-, 15-year-old kids in the car and the parent’s on Facebook,” he said. “Your child is going to be driving in a couple of years and for you to tell them don’t touch your phone while they’ve seen you do it all these years is absolutely hypocritical and they’re not going to listen to a word you say.”

Conner has no illusions of single-handedly bringing an end to cell phone distractions.

“It’s got to be a change in society and their perception of how dangerous this has really gotten to be,” he said. “Society is going to have to band together and actually say, ‘You know, enough’s enough.’ It’s an epidemic to me. You’re driving a 5,000-pound piece of machinery. What’s so important that can’t wait?”

Conner sits on the Ohio Department of Transportation’s distracted driving board, which he said hopes to propose a statewide hands-free driving law. They would also like to see points assigned to violators.

“Once points are assigned to it, insurance companies are going to start raising these people’s rates,” explained Conner.

There’s an army of angry Americans fed up with distracted drivers who believe that that day can’t come soon enough.

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.