COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus police say stepped-up efforts to combat drunk driving help reduce the number of fatal crashes on the city’s roadways last year.
Columbus police investigated 41 fatal traffic accidents in 2013, a 27 percent decline from the 52 accidents the year before, chief Kim Jacobs announced Monday. At the same time, the number of drivers charged with OVI increased 13 percent.
“There are different strategies involved in the work done by our officers to deter impaired drivers and reduce the number of tragic events those drivers cause. We are making a positive impact,” Jacobs said.
Between 2008 and 2012, 3.7 percent of all traffic crashes reported to Columbus police involved impaired drivers according to, Sgt. Mike Smith said, who heads up the division’s OVI Countermeasures Program, which trains officers, conducts saturation patrols and staffs sobriety checkpoint operations and a mobile breath-testing vehicle.
The program is partially funded by a federal traffic-safety grant and is managed by the state Department of Public Safety and the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, Jacobs says.
“The grant funds are essential in ensuring that we are doing everything we possibly can to keep our community safe,” said Smith.
Smith says Columbus police keep trying to cut down on the number of impaired drivers in 2014. Some plans include operating two sobriety checkpoints on various nights, increasing police presence, assigning specially-trained officers to strict OVI enforcement, and joint operations with other law enforcement agencies.