TOP PRIORITIES AND MAJOR STRATEGIES FOR FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2021
October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021
Each year the Ohio Traffic Safety Office is required to submit to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a highway safety plan showing how Ohio will be addressing traffic safety during the upcoming Federal Fiscal Year (FFY). For FFY 2021 Ohio submitted the its' Highway Safety Plan and can be found by clicking here.
Below are listed the Top Priorities and Major Strategies that can be found in the complete plan.
Top Priorities
Ohio has prioritized its problem areas as follows: Impaired Driving (alcohol and/or drugged), Occupant Protection, Speed, Motorcycles, Youth, Distracted Driving, Traffic Records, Pedestrian, and Bicycle. This selection was determined based upon problem identification as it relates to the core measures.
Major Strategies
Impaired Driving
Earned media (education and outreach), paid media, high visibility enforcement (alcohol and/or drug), saturation patrols, checkpoints, trace back investigations, law enforcement training (alcohol and/or drug), ignition interlock, breath testing instrument training, and laboratory drug testing are Ohio’s planned strategies to reduce alcohol and/or drug impaired driving fatalities.
Occupant Protection
Earned media (education and outreach), paid media, high visibility enforcement, child restraint inspections and/or events, and maintaining an active network of child passenger safety technicians are Ohio’s planned strategies to reduce un-restrained fatalities and to increase the observed seat belt usage rate.
Speed
Earned media (education and outreach) and high visibility enforcement are Ohio’s planned strategies to reduce speed related fatalities.
Motorcycles
Earned media (education and outreach), paid media, and motorcycle rider training are Ohio’s planned strategies to reduce motorcycle fatalities and un-helmeted fatalities by reaching both motorists and motorcyclists.
Youthful Driver
Earned media (education and outreach), paid media, high visibility enforcement, partnerships with peer to peer high school groups, college impaired driving programming, and driver education are Ohio’s planned strategies to reducing the number of drivers 20 or younger involved in fatal crashes by increasing seat belt use, reducing speeding, reducing impaired driving (alcohol and/or drugged), reducing distracted driving, reducing underage drinking, and reducing other risky behaviors that contribute to injuries and fatalities.
Distracted Driving
Earned media (education and outreach), paid media, high visibility enforcement are Ohio’s planned strategies to reducing distracted driving fatal and serious injury crashes.
Traffic Records
Through the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee (TRCC), several projects have been approved for funding for FFY2021. The TRCC projects are Ohio’s planned strategies to improve the accuracy and the timeliness of crash reporting and timeliness of data processing electronic citations.
Pedestrian
Earned media (education and outreach) and partnerships with the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) are Ohio’s planned strategies to reducing the number of pedestrian fatalities.
Bicycle
Earned media (education and outreach) and partnerships with the SHSP are Ohio’s planned strategies to reducing the number of bicycle fatalities.
OHIO SUPREME COURT DECISION ON O.R.C. 4511.13 (A)(1) MARKED LANES
The Ohio Supreme Court has found that a driver who drives on the fog line, but does not cross outside of the line, is not in violation of O.R.C. 4511.13(A)(1) (marked lanes). The decision settles a conflict around the state interpreting marked lanes violations.
In this case, a trooper observed the defendant driving with his tires on the white fog line for a short time on the right side of a two way, two lane highway. The trooper pulled him over for a marked lanes violation, and after investigation, determined he was impaired. The defendant was charged with a marked lanes violation and OVI.
The trial court granted the defendant's motion to suppress finding that because the tires did not cross over the fog line, the trooper did not have reasonable, articulable suspicion to pull him over; the twelfth district Court of Appeals disagreed and reversed. The Supreme Court then certified a conflict between appellate districts around the state that have decided differently. The Court's analysis included a detailed discussion of the requirements of designing and marking highway lanes and interpretation of statutory construction. The Court found that the statute does not prohibit driving on the fog line of a driver's lane as that is not "outside of the lane" (essentially saying that the line is within the lane).
Law enforcement should keep this in mind when forming reasonable and articulable suspicion to pull over a vehicle. Although the act of driving on the fog line may be one of the circumstances in forming reasonable and articulable suspicion, the act alone may be cause for suppression.
BREATH PERMIT RENEWAL CONTINGENCY PLAN - COVID-19 UPDATE 11/23/2020
To:
Breath Alcohol Testing Operators and Senior Operators
From:
Jeanna Walock, Program Administrator Alcohol and Drug Testing Program
Date:
November 23, 2020
Breath Permit Renewal Contingency Plan - COVID-19 Updated 11/23/2020
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 April 1, 2021 AND who have not completed a renewal test, click here and follow the instructions to apply for renewal.
BAC Datamaster Proficiency Test form can be found by clicking here.
Intoxilyzer 5000 Proficiency Test form can be found by clicking here.
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 classes and in-person renewal testing.
If your I-8000 card expired on 12/31/2019 and you have not completed a renewal test, please contact the above email address with your contact info and 'I-8000 renewal request' in the subject line. ADT staff will contact you to determine a time to conduct renewal testing.
Super Bowl
Fans Don't Let Fans Drive Drunk
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.
For marketing materials for the Super Bowl campaign, click here.
These marketing materials should only be used in support of the Super Bowl 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 meet the TSRPs and learn what training is available to law enforcement and prosecutors, click here.
TRAFFIC SAFETY CASE LAW UPDATE FOR 2020 - to view this new video click here.
Stay tuned to future issues of TrafficWise as new videos are released.
THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC & IMPAIRED DRIVING WEBINAR.
January 19, 2021
Approved for 1.5 professional conduct CLE credit hours by the Ohio Supreme Court. To view the complete flyer with registration information, click here.
DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERT PROGRAM
and the
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE WEBINAR.
February 16, 2020
This session is intended to provide an update on projects related to and affecting the Drug Recognition Expert program that are underway, as well as new offerings to help further Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement and DRE training.
Pending approval of 1.5 general CLE credit hours. To view the compete flyer and registration information, click here.
Many training resources are currently available through ODOT’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Center, including a variety of free webinars, eLearning courses and publications! Please visit the LTAP Webinars webpage for listings of upcoming sessions.
Click here to visit the LTAP eLearning webpage for details on how to access more than 300 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.
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.
Instructor: Ryan Born
To view the upcoming classes and to register, 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.
NHTSA DECEMBER 2020 IMPAIRED DRIVING UPDATE
Click here to find the December edition of NHTSA’s Impaired Driving Division Update.
In this edition you will find information on the upcoming impaired driving prevention campaigns happening during the Thanksgiving holiday, Lifesavers’ 2021 Virtual Conference and more.
We hope you will find the Update helpful.
Healthy wishes,
Morgan Drexler, MPH, CPH
E-mail: morgan.drexler.ctr@dot.gov
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.
