Why are local state troopers going to be working extra hard during the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend to arrest impaired drivers?
It’s not just about arresting and removing impaired drivers from our roadways.
It’s not just about raising awareness about irresponsible individuals who represent a daily threat to human life.
It’s also about improving the quality of life for Ohio families.
Last year, Ohio’s traffic crash fatality rate reached a 70-year low, and safety belt usage hit an all-time high of 82 percent. That’s very good news, and in achieving that success it needs to be noted that the general public had a lot to do with helping those of us who make traffic safety our business.
Despite last year’s successes, impaired driving still permeated our state.
Even with the dramatic traffic fatality reduction, alcohol-related fatal crashes and fatalities increased in Ohio last year. It’s hard to imagine, but 495 lives were lost on Ohio roads in alcohol-related crashes in 2006. That equated to nearly 40 percent of the total fatalities on Ohio roads last year.
Think about that – an impaired driver was involved with nearly four out of every 10 traffic fatalities in Ohio last year.
Ohio State Highway Patrol researchers authored a report last year that found Ohio alcohol-related traffic fatalities increased 26 percent over a five-year period ending with 2005.
As I said earlier, alcohol-fatalities in Ohio went up again last year – so
the perilous trend continued.
Here are three indisputable truths about the danger impaired drivers bring to
Ohio families on our state’s roads:
1. Alcohol-related traffic crashes affect every county in the state;
2. The severity of alcohol-related traffic crashes is on the rise; and
3. Nearly one-third of the impaired driver threat is concentrated in just six
of the heavily traveled metropolitan areas of Ohio, which include Cuyahoga,
Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Montgomery, and Summit counties.
Each year, 50,000 Ohioans are convicted of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs and/ or alcohol.
The most dangerous drivers are considered “habitual” offenders, who have received five or more impaired driving convictions in their lifetime. Currently, there are more than 33,000 habitual offenders in Ohio.
Previous research conducted by Harvard University economists found that every weekday night from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., one in seven motorists had been drinking, with the peak hours for drinking and driving occurring between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., when the rate changes to one in four drivers.
It has been well documented that Labor Day is traditionally a dangerous holiday period on Ohio roads, particularly for impaired driving crashes.
Last Labor Day holiday in Ohio was no different – seven of the 14 people killed were involved in alcohol-related crashes.
For a second consecutive year, the general public and media can go to the Highway Patrol’s Web site over the Labor Day weekend for a daily tally of impaired driver arrests made by state troopers, as well as alcohol-involved crashes. Our Web site is www.statepatrol.ohio.gov
I want to encourage the public to continue using 1-877-7-PATROL to report dangerous drivers or stranded motorists, or 1-800-GRAB DUI to report impaired drivers.
So in closing, I want to go back to the question I asked at the beginning of this column – why are state troopers going to be working extra hard during the upcoming Labor Day weekend to arrest impaired drivers?
Because over two million miles are driven by impaired motorists every day, and their poor choices severely threaten the well-being of every citizen in this state.
Because fatalities caused by impaired drivers are indeed an Ohio and national tragedy - and that makes them a potential tragedy for each of us.
And finally, because we want those who choose to drive impaired, and put innocent people in danger this weekend, to know Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers, and literally thousands of other Ohio law enforcement officers along with our safety partners, are committed to making this a safe holiday for Ohio families, and those who are safely using our public roadways.
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