COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio roadways are getting safer, thanks to a decline in the number of fatal alcohol-related accidents, but law enforcement officials are worried that too many motorists and passengers are not buckling up.
According to provisional numbers released Monday by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 13 people were killed in 11 crashes on Ohio roads the five-day Thanksgiving holiday reporting period, which began Wednesday at midnight and ran through Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
There was one more person killed than last year, but the number of deaths is two below the four-year average.
“Even though we are encouraged that OVI-related fatalities decreased this holiday, lack of safety belt usage remains a significant problem area. Motorists need to remember that wearing a safety belt is the single most important thing they can do to protect themselves during a crash” Patrol superintendent Col. Paul A. Pride said
Seven of the 13 people killed were not wearing an available safety belt, three were killed in two OVI-related crashes and one pedestrian was killed, the data shows.
The Patrol arrested 503 drivers for OVI during the holiday weekend, a nearly nine percent increase over last year’s holiday.
Preliminary statistics show that alcohol-related fatal crashes through the first 11 months of the year are are down nearly 41 percent, compared with last year, and the number of people killed while not wearing a seat belt declined almost 29 percent.