COLUMBUS – As motorists prepare to take to the highways for the three-day Labor Day weekend, safety officials are calling attention to an alarming rise in traffic fatalities in Ohio since the state’s economy began to reopen in May.
Ohio drivers appear to be unaware that September is Safe Driving Awareness Month, designated by the General Assembly in 2014 to honor victims of motor vehicle crashes.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people are driving but the state recorded 154 traffic fatalities in July, the highest number in one month since 2007, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
“We take very seriously those deaths. Those are family members, loved ones who lost their lives on Ohio’s roadways and we take that personally,” Patrol superintendent Col. Richard Fambro said during Gov. Mike DeWine’s coronavirus briefing Tuesday.
The patrol says one-third of those killed in July was involved in a speed-related crash.
Less traffic on the roads is leading many of those who are driving to speed, DeWine said. This year, the patrol has issued more than 2,200 citations for speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, a 60 percent increase over the same time period last year.
Fambro listed speed as the leading cause of traffic fatalities, followed by distracted driving and failure to wear seat belts. Fambro also noted a rise in fatal accidents involving pedestrians and motorcycles.
DeWine announced some efforts to make roads safer, including the formation of the Ohio Traffic Safety Council, led by the Department of Public Safety, which coordinate and monitor statewide traffic safety initiatives, analyze trends, and advise DeWine on how to improve safety.
The patrol’s Aviation Unit will conduct targeted enforcement on violations in Ohio Department of Transportation construction zones in response to the nearly 9,000 work-zone crashes in the last two years.
Juvenile courts in Delaware, Fairfield and six other Ohio counties have been awarded $20,000 Department of Public Safety grants from the state’s Youthful Driver Safety Fund to help them provide younger drivers more access to advanced driver training.