The Ohio Department of Health can provide GDL Made Simple brochures to local driver training schools or other agencies for distribution to students and parents as an educational and awareness resource. To request your free brochures, please send an email to: HealthyOhio@odh.ohio.gov and include the following information: Name of driving school, contact person, mailing address, and # of brochures requested.
The Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) law is in place to reduce teen injury behind the wheel and equip teens with the education & training, time, and supervision to best prepare them as a licensed driver. The GDL Made Simple brochure is a simple guide created to help parents and students make sense of the Graduated Drivers Licensing law. The brochure breaks down the step by step process for teens to obtain their driver’s license and the regulations once they earn their license.
Saint Patrick's Day Social Norming Campaign - Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving
If you’re heading out to a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, make sure you have more than just the luck o’ the Irish on your side. This holiday - March 17, 2020 - is one of the biggest drinking nights of the year, and this, unfortunately, means more drunk drivers on the roads. Drunk driving accounts for nearly one-third of vehicle-related fatalities in the United States. This St. Patrick’s Day weekend, remember: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. If you plan to go out and enjoy the evening with alcohol, make sure you refrain from driving. Review these facts and share the word about the dangers of drunk driving so you can continue merry-making for all the St. Paddy’s Days to come.
Use these 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:
U Drive. U Text. U Pay. April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month
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 females.
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:
By raising public awareness on Distracted Driving, YOU can help save lives. Materials like this can be ordered using the order form found by clicking here.
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.
The ARIDE program stresses the importance of the signs and symptoms of the seven drug categories. Officers attending this course will receive an update/refresher of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFSTs) and must successfully pass an SFST proficiency evaluation. This training also promotes interaction with representatives from the state's prosecution community who are encouraged to attend. The instructors for this course are all Ohio DRE certified instructors. Prerequisite: Law enforcement officers must have had training in SFST (previously ADAP). This course is funded through an OTSO/NHTSA grant and is free for sworn Ohio law enforcement officers and prosecutors only. Tuition for out-of-state officers is $250.
London instructor(s): Dwight Underwood
Richfield instructor(s): Mike Golec
The view the upcoming classes and to register, click here.
To view the flyer with registration information for Canton, click here.
To view the flyer with registration information for Lima, click here.
To view the flyer with registration information for Cincinnati, click here.
To view the flyer with registration information for Norwalk, click here.
Drug Recognition Expert Program
The Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program is a traffic safety program that focuses on the detection, apprehension and adjudication of drug-impaired drivers.
A 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.
Stretch of I-75 in Allen, Hancock counties designated for increased enforcement
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ohio State Highway Patrol held an event today to announce the establishment of a distracted driving safety corridor on Interstate 75 in Allen and Hancock counties.
The event was held at the southbound rest area on I-75, south of Findlay.
A section of I-75 from south of the village of Beaverdam in Allen County, to the rest areas in Hancock County, south of the city of Findlay, is being designated as a distracted driving safety corridor by a series of signs which warn of the dangers of driving distracted. The signs are currently being installed in both the northbound and southbound directions.
The signs will notify motorists they are entering the corridor and there is zero tolerance for unsafe driving behaviors. Law enforcement will be patrolling the corridor frequently and conducting traffic stops when violations are observed. Signs are also being placed at each interchange so motorists entering the corridor mid-point are alerted.
“Distracted driving is occurring at an alarming rate throughout Ohio,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “Corridors like this will remind drivers to keep their hands on the wheel. In addition, we are working on legislative changes to make distracted driving a primary offense in order to make our roads safer,” he said.
Captain John C. Altman, Ohio State Highway Patrol Findlay District commander, said the dangers of distracted driving are apparent to everyone, but motorists still choose to participate in this type of behavior. The purpose in establishing this distracted driving safety corridor is to bring further awareness and education to the problem of distracted driving, while addressing it through traffic enforcement.
“Examining the crash statistics over a three-year period illustrated the need for a distracted driving safety corridor to be established in this area of I-75,” Captain Altman said. “This need was highlighted by the fact that there were more than 400 crashes during this period, with three of those resulting in fatalities, and nearly 80 where motorists were injured."
The I-75 corridor is the second distracted driving safety corridor established in northwest Ohio. A corridor was placed on U.S. 6 in Wood, Sandusky and Henry counties in 2018.
"Adding more signage may seem to be an added distraction. But similar corridors established in crash-prone areas elsewhere in the state have proven to be effective," said Chris Hughes, deputy director for ODOT District 1. "This stretch of I-75 is unremarkable in terrain, which is why we think motorists are tempted to engage in other distracting activities while driving," said Hughes.
The Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio State Highway Patrol will continue to identify and establish distracted driving safety corridors to ensure the safety of all motorists who traverse Ohio’s roadways.
REMEMBER the 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.
