TrafficWise - January 17, 2023

Ohio State Highway Patrol sent this bulletin at 01/17/2023 11:55 AM EST

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TrafficWise

January 17, 2023

Year-to-Date Confirmed Traffic Fatalities, Current versus 2022 Traffic Fatalities

Fatal Crash Stats 0117

FATAL CRASHES 2023 YEAR TO DATE MAP can be found here.

OSTATS CRASH DASHBOARD can be found here.

Feature 2MO Class

Motorcycle Ohio Course Registration Opens January 23

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohioans who wish to learn what it takes to ride a motorcycle safely and responsibly can sign-up for rider courses online beginning Monday, Jan. 23. Training courses through Motorcycle Ohio begin as early as March and run through early November. The state has over 600,000 endorsed riders, making Ohio one of the largest states for total ridership. Education and public awareness are keys to making our roadways safer for all motorists.

  • Since 2017, there have been 1,074 fatal crashes involving motorcycles in Ohio.
  • In 56% of those crashes, the rider was at-fault.
  • An unendorsed rider was involved in 45% of those crashes.

The Motorcycle Ohio program, offered by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, provides different levels of motorcycle safety courses for riders based on their skill levels and objectives. Funded by motorcycle plate fees and class registrations, Motorcycle Ohio strives to provide affordable, effective education programs at just $50 per course that includes the cost of student workbooks. Students must have a validated motorcycle temporary permit before the first riding session. Upon successful completion of any course, the student will earn a 60-day Bureau of Motor Vehicles skill test waiver for a motorcycle license or endorsement.

The types of courses include:

  • Basic Rider Skills (BRS): recommended for novice riders. During this 16-hour course, students will participate in four hours of classroom, and 12 hours of on-cycle training covering topics such as cornering, braking, swerving, and traffic interaction. No experience is required, and Motorcycle Ohio provides the motorcycles and helmets.
  • Returning Riders (BRS-RR): recommended for intermediate riders. This eight-hour course is designed for riders 18 and older who have been riding with a two-wheel temporary permit for more than one year, or a two-wheeled experienced rider returning after an extended time away. Students will participate in two hours of classroom instruction, take an on-cycle evaluation to assess their skill level, and then complete six hours of on-cycle training.
  • Basic Rider Skills 2 (BRS-2): recommended for riders looking for a refresher course or to bond with a new motorcycle. During this seven-hour course, students will participate in on-cycle training without a formal classroom setting while using their own street legal two-wheeled motorcycle.

Motorcycle Ohio courses are being taught at 36 training sites around Ohio. To find out more about how to prepare for a course and enroll, please visit motorcycle.ohio.gov.

Distracted Driving Corridor

ODOT and OSHP unveil new Distracted Driving Safety Corridor on I-77 in Summit County

(AKRON, Ohio)– The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) are taking steps to improve safety along a section of Interstate 77 between state Route 18 and state Route 21 in northern Summit County.

From 2019-2022, the section of I-77 between SR 18 and SR 21 had 755 crashes resulting in 198 injuries and four fatalities. These statistics garnered the attention of OSHP and ODOT, who together developed plans to create the region’s latest Distracted Driving Safety Corridor.

On January 3, Governor Mike DeWine signed a bill that strengthens distracted driving laws in Ohio. The law goes into effect in April and makes the use of cell phones and other electronic communications devices while driving a primary traffic offense for all drivers, and allows law enforcement to immediately pull over a distracted driver upon witnessing a violation.

“Ohio’s new law is part of a comprehensive plan to make Ohio’s roads safer for everyone,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “By strengthening prohibitions against distracted driving and enhancing patrols in problem areas, it’s our goal to bring about systemic change in driver behavior that discourages the use of electronic devices while driving.”

This eight mile stretch of highway will be clearly marked with new signage alerting motorists when they enter and exit the corridor, and the importance of safe driving habits. The goal of this corridor is to improve safety by reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

These signs are being relocated from the previous Distracted Driving Safety Corridor on I-77 between Faircrest Street and Wise Road in Stark and Summit counties. During the two years this corridor was being enforced, crashes were decreased by six percent, fatal and injury crashes were decreased by 13 percent, and 165 distracted driving violations were issued.

Motorists should expect increased patrols and enforcement by OSHP along the corridor to discourage dangerous driving behaviors in an effort to reduce crashes. Those efforts will begin when all signs have been installed – and will continue through 2023.

“When you take your eyes off the road – even for just a few seconds – you are putting your life and the lives of others in danger,” said Lieutenant Jonathan A. Ganley, Akron Post commander. “There is nothing more important than the safety of yourself, your passengers and other motorists – everything else can wait.”

Bringing attention to the hazards of distracted driving is more important than ever right now. Although distracted driving is known to be underreported, the OSHP reports that there have been at least 73,945 distracted driving crashes in Ohio since 2017, including 2,186 fatal and serious injury crashes.

Through partnerships and campaigns such as this, OSHP and ODOT hope to continue educating drivers on the importance of following traffic laws and eliminating dangerous driving behaviors.
GHSA

U.S. Traffic Deaths Remain Unacceptably High Despite Minor Decrease

Statement by Jonathan Adkins, Executive Director, GHSA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a preliminary estimate this month finding that 31,785 people died in traffic crashes in the first nine months of 2022, 65 fewer deaths than the same period before.

A reduction in roadway fatalities is welcome, but the 0.2% decline announced by NHTSA follows an unprecedented two-year surge in roadway deaths and dangerous driving. Coupled with that is a continued rise in bicyclist and pedestrian deaths, underscoring the urgent need to ensure that road users not in vehicles enjoy the same protections as drivers and their passengers.

This news is a small step forward for safer roads. Crash fatalities rose 7.2% in 2020 despite a historic drop in driving and jumped another 10.5% in 2021. This giant backward slide is due in part to a spike in unsafe motorist behaviors that included speeding, impaired and distracted driving, and lack of seat belt use.

We cannot afford to inch our way to zero traffic deaths. We must act now – and quickly – to prevent crashes and save lives. Adoption and implementation of the Safe System approach outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy offers a proven roadmap for making meaningful gains in reducing traffic crashes, injuries and deaths. The approach calls for combining all effective countermeasures – equitable traffic enforcement, infrastructure that slows down drivers and protects non-motorized road users, community engagement campaigns developed with local input, vehicle technology that protects people both inside and outside the vehicle, and investments in post-crash care – to create a multi-layered traffic safety net that keeps everyone safe.

NHTSA also released an analysis of roadway fatalities for the first six months of 2022. Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate by Sub-Categories Through June 2022 shows a mixture of increases and decreases across various contributing factors. Rural road deaths increased 5% in the first half of 2022, according to the estimate. Last year, GHSA released a report funded by State Farm® showing that rural roads are disproportionately deadly per mile driven and offering suggestions to make these roads safer. The NHTSA analysis also found that unbuckled passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in the first six months of 2022 fell 7% compared to the same period the year before.

Reminder: "Drive To Succeed" Proposal Deadline Approaching

The Ohio Traffic Safety Office aims to expand access to teen driver training to low-income populations by providing state funding for localized scholarship programs.

Agencies interested in receiving a "Drive To Succeed" grant to fund teen driver training scholarships must submit their applications by January 27th, 2023 at 5 p.m. The Request For Proposal and grant application is available on our website.

Who is eligible for a grant?
Local governmental agencies: Police Departments, Sheriff's Offices, Health Departments, School Districts, Educational Service Centers & others

Not eligible:
Driver Training schools, churches, non-profit organizations & private businesses

Please e-mail completed applications to trafficsafety@dps.ohio.gov. There is no one approved driver training school that we recommend you work with- please take a look at all licensed programs on our website to determine which schools you would like to reach out to.