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November 21, 2022

Year-to-Date Confirmed Traffic Fatalities, Current versus 2021 Traffic Fatalities

FATAL CRASHES 2022 YEAR TO DATE MAP can be found here.

OSTATS CRASH DASHBOARD can be found here.

Thanksgiving Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign

Thanksgiving is November 24th. As we prepare for festivities with family and friends, we want to remind all drivers about the dangers of impaired driving. 

Dates to remember:

• Nov. 23-27 - Thanksgiving Impaired Driving Prevention (buzzed/drugs)
• Nov. 23 - Blackout Wednesday (buzzed driving)
• Nov. 24 - Thanksgiving Weekend Travel (Buckle Up)

Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving

You have to choose your role before drinking begins: will you drink or will you drive? Remember, even if you just had one drink and you think you are "okay to drive", you could still be driving impaired.

 Click here for impaired driving prevention (buzzed) campaign materials.

If You Feel Different, You Drive Different.

Drug-impaired driving is also a problem on our nation's highways. Like drunk driving, drug-impaired driving is also impaired driving. So, whether legally or illegally obtained, driving under the influence of drugs poses a threat to the driver, vehicle passengers, and other road users.

 Click here for impaired driving prevention (drugs) campaign materials.

On behalf of the NHTSA team, thanks for your proactive support in this Thanksgiving impaired driving prevention initiative.

2022 pre-Holiday Season Impaired Driving Prevention
November 28 - December 13, 2022

After Thanksgiving and throughout the month of December, Americans have many opportunities to celebrate the upcoming holidays and past year with co-workers, friends and family. A mainstay of these gatherings for many people is alcohol and, increasingly, marijuana. The 2022 Pre-Holiday Impaired Driving campaign seeks to educate drivers about the dangers of drunk and drug-impaired driving.

Drunk Driving: The Sobering Statistics

• During the 2016-2020 December months, there were more than 4,400 people killed in drunk-driving-related crashes.
• Drunk male drivers were involved in fatal crashes at a much higher rate (660) in December 2020 compared to female drivers (191).
• Young drivers ages 21-34 accounted for the highest percentage (26%) of alcohol-impaired fatalities in December 2020.

Click here to get your 2022 campaign materials.

Lorain County JVS Student Wins Safety Billboard Contest

An emotional message about distracted driving was selected as the winner of this year's Teen Driver Safety Billboard Contest hosted by State Farm and the Lorain County Safe Communities Coalition. 47 entries were submitted by students at 7 different high schools. Contest entries were assessed by the Safe Communities Coalition on creativity, originality, and how well the billboard communicated the importance of driving focused.

The winning message will now be displayed on three billboards in Lorain County this winter.

CLICK HERE to view the winning entry and what the creator says inspired the message. 

Thank You to Amanda Accordino from Lorain County Public Health for sharing this story!

Greene County Public Health Hosts Successful Event Encouraging CSU Students Not To Drink & Drive

On October 27, Greene County Public Health and Central State University hosted a Mocktail Challenge for students. With this event, organizers were able to reach approximately 200 students about the dangers of drinking and driving.

Thank You to Loressa Gonyer from Greene County Public Health for sharing these pictures!

Do you have a story idea or success story? Let us know!
Please send a brief paragraph and pictures to OTSO Public Information Officer Judy Converse at jlconverse@dps.ohio.gov

The Ohio Supreme Court has recently issued two decisions affecting traffic safety enforcement:

• In State v. O'Malley, the Court affirmed the constitutionality of third-offense OVI conviction penalties that allow for the sentencing Court to order forfeiture of the defendant's vehicle.
• In State v. Wilson, the Court discusses the legal definition of "operation" as it applies to Driving Under Suspension violations. The Court differentiates the DUS requirement of "operation" from an OVI. In order for the State to prove operation for a DUS conviction, they must prove movement of the vehicle. In an OVI, it is sufficient for the State to show the driver's ability to move the vehicle.

Distracted Driving Bill Advances at Ohio Statehouse

On November 16, the Ohio House of Representatives passed an amended version of a distracted driving bill that makes it a primary offense. The vote was 77 in favor, and 11 against.
House Bill 283 originally would have banned drivers from "holding or physically supporting an electronic wireless communications device with any part of the body, with certain exceptions," but it was amended in Commitee and passed with two changes:

• Drivers will be able to hold a phone placed next to their ear as long as it's not being looked at
• Drivers can use phones while stopped at a traffic signal

The bill still must clear the Senate and be signed by Gov. Mike DeWine by the end of the year, or the legislative process would start over again. The Governor has long supported a hands-free law in the state.

If the bill becomes law, it does not come with an emergency clause. Instead, there would be a six-month period where officers will give drivers a warning, not a citation.

Stay tuned to future issues of TrafficWise for any updates on House Bill 283.

TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE PROSECUTORS VIDEO TRAINING SERIES RECENT VIDEO COMBATING ALCOHOL AND DRUG - IMPAIRED DRIVING (IIHS), to view this video click here. PREVIOUS VIDEOS  TO MEET THE TSRP'S AND LEARN WHAT TRAINING IS AVAILABLE TO 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.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol and The Ohio State University – John Glenn College of Public Affairs will host the 2023 Public Safety Leadership Academy for qualified police executives. This intensive, 11-week residential professional training program will be held March 27, through June 9, 2023, at the Patrol's Training Academy.

Click HERE for more information on student requirements, and how to nominate an executive officer to attend this course. The deadline to submit is December 23, 2022.

WEBINAR SERIES

*The following webinars are approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 1.5 CLE credit hours for prosecutors*
You must virtually attend the live webinar for CLE credit.
Please email your bar number to Holly Reese (hreesetsrp@gmail.com) at the conclusion of the webinar to have it submitted to the Supreme Court.

DECEMBER TRAFFIC TUESDAY WEBINAR

Title: Forensic Toxicology in DUI Cases: Bringing Out the Nerd in You 

Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Time: 2p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Amy Miles, Director of Forensic Toxicology, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, UW School of Medicine and Public Health; National Resource Toxicologist

Description: You have received the toxicology report back from your laboratory for your DUI case.  Listed on the report are drugs that you know are not the active parent, but you observed impairment.  Now what?  What did the subject ingest?  What drugs are there as a result of the body's metabolism?  Your lab is always a great resource, yet there is some preliminary information you can learn to help navigate the report before you must write an email or make a call to the lab.  This presentation will discuss the differences between active drugs, their metabolites as well as various precursors and derivatives so that one can better understand and handle drug DUI cases using several examples of specific cases.

There is no charge to attend this webinar, but you must register in advance. Click here for complete information and registration information.

Breaking Down Barriers to Mobility Safety
2 p.m. (ET) Nov. 28

Barriers to safe walking and biking are sometimes overlooked, but they impact mobility, accessibility, community and more. On November 28, join the Road to Zero Coalition’s next webinar, Breaking Down Barriers to Mobility Safety, sponsored by Uber, to explore some of these barriers and how we can tackle them as we create safe multi-modal environments for all roadway users.

Register now to hear from experts and join the conversation!

Reminder: Annual I-8000 Proficiency Testing There are currently over 2,100 Ohio I-8000 operators who have not completed a successful proficiency or subject test in 2022.  In order to maintain proficiency, each operator must successfully complete and upload a subject test or proficiency test each calendar year. Please go to the Breath Instrument Data Center on the Alcohol and Drug Testing page of the Ohio Department of Health website to check your current proficiency date.  Click HERE for more information  If you have questions, please contact the Alcohol and Drug Testing Program at BADT@odh.ohio.gov or (614) 644-4609.

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. December 5-6 - Richfield 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.

Transportation Research Board

• 102nd Annual Meeting (Washington, DC)
• January 8-12, 2023
• https://www.trb.org/AnnualMeeting/AnnualMeeting.aspx

National Sheriffs' Association (NSA)

• Winter Legislative & Technology Conference (Washington, DC)
• February 3-6, 2023
• https://www.sheriffs.org/

Lifesavers 2023 Conference

• National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities (Seattle, WA)
• April 2-4, 2023
• https://lifesaversconference.org/

Ohio Heads Into Peak Time For Deer-Related Crashes

It’s deer season… on Ohio’s roadways. The Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Department of Insurance, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and AAA are all reminding drivers that fall is peak time for deer-related crashes.

Since 2017, statistics from OSHP show there were 103,752 deer-related crashes on Ohio’s roadways. While 95% of deer-related crashes only resulted in property damage, 30 crashes resulted in fatal injuries.

• Nearly 43% of these crashes occurred in October, November, and December.
• The top counties for deer related crashes are Stark, Richland, Hancock, Williams, Trumbull and Defiance with I-71, SR-2 and US-30 being the top roadways where deer-related crashes occur in Ohio.

According to ODNR, deer become visibly active from late October through November. This is due in large part to the fall breeding season. While males pursue prospective mates throughout the season, they often encounter females that are not yet willing to breed, which can result in pursuits where deer will dart into roadways with little caution. This unpredictable movement leads to an increase in deer-related vehicle crashes.

How to avoid animal collisions:

• Scan the road ahead:Looking ahead helps provide enough reaction time if an animal is spotted. Also, remember some animals, like deer, move in groups, so when there is one, there are usually more in the area.
• Use high beam headlights if there is no oncoming traffic:This can help you spot deer or other wildlife more quickly and give you time to slow down, move over or honk the horn to scare the animal away. High beams also help in spotting animals’ reflective eyes.
• Be extra cautious at dawn and dusk:Deer tend to be more active in the early morning and at dusk. That’s why these are peak times for deer-vehicle collisions.
• If a collision is unavoidable, apply the brakes firmly and remain in your lane:Swerving to avoid an animal can often cause a more serious crash or cause you to lose control of your vehicle. Drivers who swerve to miss a deer and hit something else may be charged for an at-fault crash.
• Always wear a seatbelt and remain awake, alert, and sober:The chances of getting injured when hitting an animal are much higher if you don’t have your seatbelt on. If you’re distracted or drowsy, you’re not properly scanning the road for deer and could end up spotting them too late.

What to do if you hit a deer:

• Following the collision, call the police.
• Avoid making contact with the deer/animal. A frightened and wounded animal can be dangerous and pose a threat when approached or might further injure itself.
• Activate the vehicle’s hazard lights whether it’s light or dark outside.
• If possible, move the vehicle to a safe location out of the roadway, and wait for help to arrive.
• Drivers should contact their insurance agent or company representative as quickly as possible to report any vehicle damage.

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.

Localized Traffic Safety Bulletins Available Online:

In partnership with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, OTSO will biannually publish 88 county-specific driver training bulletins for use by parents, teachers, and driving instructors to help educate young drivers on local-level driving trends, dangerous roads and intersections, and seatbelt usage. Individual data sheets for every county in Ohio are available for download HERE.

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