From May 24-June 6, 2021, state and local law enforcement agencies across the nation are stepping up their enforcement efforts for motorists who aren’t wearing their seat belts. For this year’s Click It or Ticket seat belt mobilization effort, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is asking all states to participate in the Border to Border (B2B) initiative on May 24, a one-day, 4-hour national seat-belt awareness kickoff event coordinated by participating state highway safety offices and their respective law enforcement liaisons. B2B aims to increase law enforcement participation by coordinating highly visible seat belt enforcement and encouraging drivers and passengers to buckle up at heavily traveled, highly visible state border checkpoints.
To view the complete NHTSA Fact Sheet and Planner for the 2021 Click It or Ticket mobilization, click here.
2021 CLICK IT OR TICKET
Attn: Ohio Law Enforcement Partners
2021 CLICK IT OR TICKET MOBILIZATION
OHIO
Information regarding Ohio's participation in the 2021 Click It or Ticket National Mobilization will be coming soon.
STAY TUNED
FFY2022 Traffic Safety Grants
The Traffic Safety Proposal Package and GRANTS Plus FFY2022 grant proposals went live on April 20, 2021 with an online submission deadline of May 25, 2021. Questions can be directed to your OTSO Planner and/or your Law Enforcement Liaison (LEL).
REMINDER
The 2021 NHTSA Communications Calendar can be found by clicking here.
May 17 - June 6, 2021 / National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization
Seat belts have been proven to be one of the best ways to save your life in a crash. Yet many still do not buckle up. Worse still, not wearing a seat belt is a habit that will pass on to impressionable youth, who in turn will think it’s safe to not buckle up. The Click It or Ticketcampaign focuses on safety education, strong laws, and law enforcement officers saving lives. Dates to remember:
May 10 - June 17, 2021 (earned media)
May 17 - June 6, 2021 (paid media)
May 24 - June 6, 2021 (enforcement)
Use these enforcement resources for outreach during the campaign dates to highlight the dangers of not wearing a seat belt. These materials do not focus on social norming – for those materials, please refer to our Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time. campaign.
For more information and support materials, click here.
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For complete information 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 Available Training webpage for additional information.
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.
WHERE: Owens Community College, Center for Emergency Preparedness, 30150 Tracy Road, Walbridge, Ohio, 43465
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 Owens Community College. Funding is provided in part or solely by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
REGISTRATION: Email cep@owens.edu by May 13, 2021. PLEASE DO NOT DELAY…. WE ANTICIPATE A GOOD RESPONSE. SPACE IS LIMITED TO 20. This course has been approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 6.00 total CLE hours, with 1.50 of attorney professional conduct instruction. It is free for prosecutors and law enforcement. Please contact Holly Reese, Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor @ hreesetsrp@ gmail.com or (330)904-8971 with any questions.
To view the flyer with registration information, click here.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE PROSECUTORS
VIDEO TRAINING SERIES
PREVIOUS VIDEOS
TO MEET THE TSRP'S AND LEARN WHAT TRAINING IS AVAILABLETO LAW ENFORMCEMENT AND PROSECUTORS, click here.
TRAFFIC SAFETY CASE LAW UPDATE FOR 2020 - to view this video click here.
OHIO INTOXILYZER 8000 FOR PROSECUTORS - to view click here.
Stay tuned to future issues of TrafficWise as new videos are released.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE PROSECUTORS WEBINARS
THE IMPLICATIONS OF FIELD SOBRIETY TEST EVIDENCE
IN DRUG IMPAIRED DRIVING CASES.
NOTE NEW DATE!!!!
PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULE FOR - May 4, 2021
RESCHEDULED FOR MAY 11, 2021
This session will provide an overview of field sobriety test evidence as it relates to drug impaired driving cases. Presenters Deena Ryerson, Oregon Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor, and Ashley Schluck, Wyoming TSRP, will discuss defense challenges in the use of field sobriety test evidence for drug impairment. The session will further cover various court rulings on this issue and how prosecutors and law enforcement officers can prepare to deal with challenges to the admission.
Approved for 1.5 general CLE credit hours by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education. To view the complete flyer and registration information, click here.
JUNE 2021 TRAFFIC TUESDAY WEBINAR
USING THE BODY WORN CAMERA TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
DURING THE DRUG INFLUENCE EVALUATTION
Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern
Presenter: Lt. Allan Kolak – Cape Coral (FL) Police Department
Description: This session will discuss the benefits of wearing a body worn camera system and explain how to use it to your advantage in a DUI case involving a Drug Recognition Expert Evaluation. In addition to the technical aspects of the body worn camera system, attendees will learn proper camera positioning, lighting, and audio applications when conducting a Drug Influence Evaluation and how to best preserve the Drug Influence Evaluation on video for court presentation. Furthermore, this session will explain to both prosecutors and law enforcement how to use such video evidence to enhance courtroom presentation during a DUI case involving a DRE Evaluation. As this session provides a discussion on what to do and what not to do while using a body worn camera system, attendees will learn how video can help to not only enhance case presentation but also to promote professionalism by accurately documenting the activities that occur throughout the entire DUI investigation.
These webinars are being conducted by the Florida TSRP Program and the National TSRP Program utilizing the National TSRP Program webinar account. The account is funded through the NAPC/NHTSA Cooperative Agreement, Project Number 693JJ92050011.
This activity has been approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 1.5 general CLE credit hours for prosecutors. There is a twenty-four (24) hour limitation on Live Interactive Webinars (Gov. Bar R. X, Sec. 5 (E)(2)).
The webinar is FREE to participants. Upon completing the webinar, each attendee must email his/ her Ohio bar number to hreesetsrp@gmail.com as certification of attendance, and she will submit them to the Ohio Supreme Court.
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.
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.
SECURE YOUR LOAD - SAFETY DAY
A message from Robin Able
Founder of Secure Your Load Day
April 22, 2021
Good Morning, this year on June 6th we will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary of Secure Your Load Day safety campaign. There are not adequate words to thank each of you for your past and future support. As you all know it takes all of us to keep our families safe on the roads and I am thankful to be a safety partner with each of you.
I received updated numbers from National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) on crashes caused by unsecured loads and road debris. In 2019 there were 739 deaths, 17,367 injuries and 89,915 property damage crashes. (Data attached) I would ask that you use this information or information from your state to share in your campaign. Too often I hear that these incidents are FREAK accidents; they are not, because they are totally preventable. Sadly there is very little education out there for the public like there is for commercial drivers.
During the last year there have been several deaths because good citizens stopped to pick up debris on the road. Please encourage drivers to call 911 instead of picking up the debris themselves. While I hate to endanger our law enforcement or DOT workers they are better equipped and educated to stop or slow traffic effectively.
This year I have spent a great deal of time working with national companies to change their commercials which show bad examples of load securement. They use poor examples thinking it is funny but as you know it is best to show good examples of load securement; as we learn by example. I would encourage you to be BOLD and contact a company’s media team when you see a bad example on TV. I could use your support on this issue.
In the last few years multiple states and counties have started Secure Your Load/Cover Your Load programs at their Waste and Recycling facilities by educating their customers and charging a fee at the scale house for unsecured loads. This program has been very effective in reducing litter, saving lives and injuries and generating income. THANK YOU to all the scale operators for going the extra mile!
Aristotle said “The Law is Free of Passion”, but I am here to tell you that changing the law and educating the public is solely about passion! Thanks to each of you for supporting this safety campaign; let’s go save lives. A National Press Release will be sent out to you the last week of May.
If you have any questions, need additional information or are new to this campaign please reach out to me. THANK YOU!!!
GHSA and Distracted Driving Survivor Advocates Team Up to Reinforce the Need for Comprehensive Approach to Driver Inattention
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and StopDistractions.org are teaming up to reinforce the critical role of equitable enforcement in effectively combating distracted driving. The two organizations are calling on states to implement a comprehensive strategy that includes high visibility enforcement of primary texting and hand-held cellphone bans, coupled with extensive public outreach that explains how distraction takes a driver’s eyes and mind off the road and puts others – especially people outside vehicles – at risk.
“At any given moment during the day in the United States, nearly a half a million drivers are distracted behind the wheel,” said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. “It’s a dangerous and deadly epidemic that is responsible for eight to ten percent of all fatal crashes, a statistic that has varied little in the past seven years. This problem demands a broad approach including engineering, technology advancements, education and equitable enforcement of strong laws.”
Crashes caused by distracted driving killed 3,142 people in the United States in 2019 – up 10% from the year before. With overall traffic fatalities surging in the first nine months of 2020 and evidence pointing to increased distracted driving during the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers could climb even higher.
During April, many states are participating in national high visibility enforcement and public awareness campaigns such as “U Drive. U Text. U Pay,” which are shown to prompt positive behavior change. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demonstration projects conducted in the Sacramento Valley region of California and across Delaware found that observed driver use of handheld cellphones dropped by one-third following increased police enforcement of distracted driving laws and increased awareness of distracted driving using radio advertisements, news stories and other media.
To view the complete GHSA News Release, click here.
REMEMBER the OTSO offers materials for numerous traffic safety campaigns, including impaired driving, restraint usage, distracted driving, speeding 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.
