We need your help.

Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers, at this very moment, are working to prevent tragedies from occurring on Ohio roads. These dedicated officers out there in the cold, snow, and ice to make the roads safer for you.

They know how to reduce tragedy, but need your participation in this life and death effort in order to be truly successful. The mantra of how to make Ohio roadways safe is not new. Few would argue that speeding, drunk driving, and not wearing a safety belt are unsafe practices.

Given that, it still strikes me when I hear about preventable tragedies on our roadways.

I have the first-hand knowledge of having arrested drunk drivers, investigated crashes where an unused safety belt could have saved a life if it had only been buckled, or stopping a speeding motorist.

Why do I, and every state trooper in Ohio, care so much about these things?

I have three sobering answers to that question.

First, about one-quarter of the fatal crashes in Ohio involves alcohol.

Second, over half the people killed in motor vehicle crashes in Ohio are not wearing the safety belt available to them at the time of the crash.

Third, excessive speed is the leading causative factor for fatal crashes in Ohio.

Whether a driver or passenger, staying safe while in a motor vehicle is simple if you just participate in the safety process. What do I mean by participate?

Participation starts with wearing your safety belt, slowing down, and designating a driver if you are going to be drinking.

Participation also means taking the extra step to help others stay safe.

As we enter a new year, I also want to remind everyone of ways you can directly contact the Patrol and help a trooper render assistance.

You can call the Highway Patrol toll-free at 1-800-GRAB-DUI, and cellular *DUI to report drunk drivers, and drivers who continue to operate a motor vehicle despite convictions and license suspensions for impaired driving. These toll-free telephone numbers are useful tools that allow motorists to help us get these dangerous drivers off the road.

Motorists are calling the numbers, and impaired drivers are being apprehended. In 1999, motorists placed 4,350 GRAB-DUI calls to Patrol posts around the state. Those calls contributed to the arrest total of 24,894 impaired drivers in 1999, of which 508 were convicted with their fifth or higher drunk driving violation.

Throughout Ohio, large blue highway signs remind motorists to call the Patrol toll-free at 1-877-7-PATROL to receive highway help, report aggressive drivers, and advise troopers of disabled vehicles.

Again, the motoring public is using 1-877-7-PATROL and our roadways are safer for it.

By example, state troopers assisted 647,167 motorists in 1999. In many of those instances, troopers first learned about these motorists in need of help because someone took the initiative to call the Patrol.

Public participation in keeping Ohio's roadways safe is having an impact, and lives are being saved. Just last year, rural traffic fatalities, which account for most of Ohio's traffic deaths each year, were reduced approximately five percent as compared with 1999 totals.

Although a single traffic-related death is one too many, last year's fatality reduction shows strides are being made toward making our roads safer.

We still have a long way to go, and with the same number of Ohio troopers today compared to 25 years ago, we obviously cannot be everywhere at all times.

In this new year I hope you accept the responsibility to help us. Quite simply, in order to keep the roads in Ohio safe we need your help. It's about safety.