Patrol announces two-week Holiday enforcement initiative
The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced statewide plans for a two-week enforcement initiative which will begin Veteran’s Day and run through Thanksgiving weekend in an effort to reduce fatal and injury crashes on area roads, while also arresting impaired drivers, apprehending wanted felons and interdicting drugs and weapons. This initiative is the first in a series of initiatives that are planned throughout the rest of the year.
Troopers will work closely with local law enforcement agencies in tactical squads to strictly enforce known crash-causing violations such as failure to yield, improper passing/lane changes, unsafe speed, and following too close. Troopers will also be committed to firm enforcement of safety belt and child restraint violations.
Troopers plan to educate drivers about the dangers of distracted driving, which is attributed to over 22, 000 of the crashes that occurred on Ohio roadways. Nationally, in 2009, 5,474 people were killed and an additional 448,000 people were injured in distracted driving related motor vehicle crashes on U.S. roadways.
“We are reminding motorist’s that distractions come in many forms ranging from texting, eating, talking on a cell phone or adjusting your CD player,” said Colonel David W. Dicken, Patrol superintendent. “This, in addition to well known crash causing violations, could result in a tragic traffic crash.”
Troopers said last year during the Thanksgiving four-day reporting period there were 2,998 crashes, with 10 of 18 fatal crashes involving an impaired driver. According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety crash statistics, current and preliminary totals revealed that through October of this year, 927 lives have been lost on Ohio roadways in comparison to 865 in 2009.
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