Laser, radar can be admitted in court to convict speeders, without testimony about their science: Ohio Supreme Court
Submitted by Holly Reese, Ohio Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor
Last month, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a positive decision for law enforcement in Brook Park v. Rodojev, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-3253. The main purpose of the analysis was to update their review of the admissibility of speed detection device technology since it had not done so since 1958 and the technology has changed exponentially since then. The Court’s ultimate holding was that “the results of a speed-measuring device using either radar or laser technology are admissible in court without expert testimony establishing, or the court taking judicial notice of, the reliability of the scientific principles of that technology.” The factfinder must still determine whether the evidence presented concerning the accuracy of the speed measuring device and the qualifications of the person who used it are sufficient to support a conviction based on the device’s results.
The complete submission from Ohio Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor - Holly Reese can be found by clicking here.
Dear Law Enforcement Professional,
Our mission at the Collaborative is to determinedly work to improve community-police relations and find solutions to the tensions and concerns between community members and the officers that serve them. We know that law enforcement shares these goals and we hope to provide any aid we can in those efforts.
The Ohio Collaborative offers a certification process for police agencies to achieve our mission. Like other certification programs, the process consists of two major components:
Establishing professional standards for law enforcement to meet; and
Administering a voluntary assessment process by which law enforcement agencies can be recognized for their achievements.
We would like to extend our assistance and resources with no cost to the agency, no matter where you are in the process, to get certified with the Ohio Collaborative. Our website has many sample policies and helpful information regarding our standards. You can also reach our free Certification portal here. We currently have 8 standards and 8 available Best Practice policies broken down into 4 Groups:
Group 1= (1)- Use of Force, (2)- Recruitment and Hiring,
Group 2= (3)- Community Engagement, (4)- Body Worn Cameras, (5)- Telecommunicator Training,
Group 3= (6)-Bias Free Policing, (7)- Investigation of Employee Misconduct
Group 4= (8)- Vehicle pursuits
Our trained staff is available to assist your agency with certification by phone, email, or we can come to your agency to assist in the process. If you have questions, or need additional information, please feel free to contact one of our staff members. A member of our staff or one of our trained LE Assessors will be contacting your agency about your participation in the Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Agency Certification Program.
Submitted by Sierra Williams - Ohio Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor
These are just some things that are going into effect soon or recently have been put into place due to Coronavirus, etc. We hope the public as well as law enforcement might find this information helpful.
- The front license plate is no longer required in Ohio starting July 1, 2020; commercial tractors are still required to have a front license plate. R.C. 4503.21 [Effective 7/1/2020].
- Ohio's Sub. H.B. 197 signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on March 27, 2020 extends all state-issued licenses expiring during the declared state of emergency until either 90 days after the state’s current declaration of emergency ends, or until Dec. 1, 2020, whichever comes first. This includes state driver’s licenses, CDLs, ID cards, temp permits, vehicle registration, and vehicle temporary tags. The State of Emergency was declared on March 9, 2020. The BMV is encouraging Ohioans to consider renewing their vehicle registrations on their normal schedule. This can be done on Ohio's BMV website, Oplates.com.
- Effective June 26, 2020, Ohio Motor Vehicle Dealerships will begin issuing print-on-demand (POD) temporary tags. The POD temporary tag is printed on a standard 8.5'' x 11" white sheet of paper. The temporary tags are to be placed inside, on the left rear window, of the customer's motor vehicle. I have attached information about this as well as what a POD tag looks like.
To view information on the Print On Demand temporary tag, click here.
Sierra Williams
Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor
513-379-7551
Impaired Driving Division Update
Dear Colleagues,
Please find the July edition of NHTSA’s Impaired Driving Division Update by clicking here. In this edition you will find information about the Labor Day Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Mobilization, call for speakers for the 2021 Lifesaver’s conference, the release of the Impaired Driving Assessment Resource Center from APPA, and another great TSRP Traffic Tuesday Webinar.
You will also find the Summer 2020 Highway to JusticeNewsletter from the American Bar Association (ABA) by clicking here. The newsletter includes great information on how the pandemic has impacted the judicial system, family involvement in treatment courts, and upcoming webinars on impaired driving.
We hope you find the Update helpful.
Healthy wishes,
Morgan Drexler,MPH, CPH
ASPPH Public Health Fellow
Impaired Driving Division
BREATH PERMIT RENEWAL CONTINGENCY PLAN - COVID-19 UPDATE 06/09/2020
To:
Breath Alcohol Testing Operators and Senior Operators
From:
Jeanna Walock, Program Administrator Alcohol and Drug Testing Program
Date:
June 9, 2020
Subject: Breath Testing Renewal Contingency Plan - COVID-19 Updated 06/09/2020
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Alcohol and Drug Testing Program will temporarily suspend training classes and in-person Breath Test Operator and Senior Operator permit renewal testing.
For Breath Test Operators and Senior Operators who have a permit with an expiration date prior to September 1, 2020 AND who have not completed a renewal test, click here and follow the instructions to apply for renewal.
If you have any questions, contact the Alcohol and Drug Testing Program at BADT@odh.ohio.gov or call (614) 644-4609.
We will communicate in the future when we are again able to conduct training and in-person renewal testing. If your I-8000 card expired on 12/31/2019 and you have not completed a renewal test, we will resume testing when we are able to conduct in-person testing.
Child Safety
Heatstroke Prevention
There have been 851 children who have died due to vehicular heatstroke since 1998 (reference: https://www.noheatstroke.org). All of these deaths could have been prevented.
These are the statistics as of May 28, 2020:
Child heatstroke fatalities in 2020 - 2
Child heatstroke fatalities in 2019 - 52
Child heatstroke fatalities in 2018 - 53
Child heatstroke fatalities in 2017 - 44
National average of child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998 - 39
Find and share campaign information for parents, caregivers, schools and organizations, and remind everyone to
DRUNK DRIVING | DRIVE SOBER OR GET PULLED OVER PEAK ENFORCEMENT KIT
National Mobilization
The 2020 national enforcement mobilization "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" goes into effect across the country from August 19 to September 7, 2020. One of the deadliest and most often committed - yet preventable - of crimes (impaired driving), has become a serious safety epidemic in our country.
August 19 - September 7, 2020 [paid media advertisement]
August 26 - September 7, 2020 [national enforcement mobilization]
As law enforcement professionals and highway safety advocates, your efforts will help reduce the number of crashes and fatalities due to impaired driving. By increasing state enforcement efforts, raising public awareness through paid, earned, and social media, and maximizing your local resources, you can make a difference.
Use these customizable enforcement materials to help you successfully spread the campaign’s message, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, and complement your enforcement campaign. The high-visibility enforcement model has two important purposes:
Spread the message, and
Increase enforcement efforts.
For more information, facts and toolkits, click 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.
Due to circumstances relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the above training has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date. The Ohio Traffic Safety Office wishes to thank the Cincinnati Police Department and the Training Academy for offering to host this training and we look forward to having this event in the future.
To view the flyer with registration information for Norwalk, click here.
To view the flyer with registration information for Lima, click here.
To view the flyer with registration information for Maumee, click here.
To view the flyer with registration information for Defiance, 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.
Due to COVID-19, please note that ODOT’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Center is unable to host in-person training courses at this time. However, many other training resources are currently available through LTAP, including a variety of free webinars, eLearning courses and publications!
Transportation Information Mapping Systems (TIMS) Overview Webinar – July 9. Click here for registration information.
Ohio Safety Project Processes & Funding Course / Webinar Series – July 15, 20, 22 and 23. Click here for registration information.
GIS Crash Analysis Tool (GCAT) Overview Webinar – July 15. Click here for registration information.
Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) Intersections Webinar – July 16. Click here for registration information.
Click here to visit the LTAP Webinars webpage with listings of additional upcoming topics.
Click here to visit the LTAP eLearning webpage for details on how to access more than 250 free online courses/modules. Topics include Road Diets, Roadway Departure Countermeasures and many others.
Click here to visit the LTAP Route of Navigation (RON) Educational series, with links to dozens of resource publications for topic categories such as Access Management, Roadway Safety, Signage and Work Zone Safety.
Motorcycle Ohio is committed to continuing to provide motorcycle training to the general public. COVID-19 presented challenges for many businesses and organizations. During the closure, the Motorcycle Ohio team worked hard to develop a virtual classroom, train instructors and release a quality product to students. The program has reduced class sizes and put protocols in place in order for students to continue their motorcycle education in a safe environment.
Motorcycle Ohio is also piloting modified curriculum around the state in order to improve the student learning experience. The curriculum and certified instructors are reviewed on a routine basis to ensure quality and compliance.
For more information on Motorcycle Ohio, click here.
Welcome to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration communication resource for states, partner organizations, and highway safety professionals .
NHTSA offers materials for numerous traffic safety campaigns, including drunk driving, car seats, vehicle safety, distracted driving, and motorcycles.These marketing tools offer a way to get involved through traditional media and online media.
Topics
Bicycle Safety
Child Safety
Distracted Driving
Drowsy Driving
Drug-Impaired Driving
Drunk Driving
First Responder Safety
Law Enforcement Appreciation
Motorcycle Safety
Older Drivers
Others
Pedestrian Safety
Rail Grade Crossing
School Bus Safety
Seat Belts
Speed Prevention
Teen Safety
Vehicle Safety
To view the NHTSA Traffic Safety Marketing site and resources and the above topics, click here.
NOTE
Due to the current situation we are operating under, (COVID-19 Pandemic), our materials orders have been delayed. We will hold on to your orders and as soon as we can get them processed, we'll get them out.
Thank you for your understanding,
The Ohio Traffic Safety Office
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.
