Information distribution decreases OVI related crashes for Mahoning County

July 11, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

Lt. Jared Sutton of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said there has been a decrease of OVI-related crashes in 2016 compared with last year.

According to OSHP data for Mahoning County, from Jan. 1 to June 15, 2015, there were 31 substantial crashes related to operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Between the same dates this year, there have been 19.

Scott Weamer, Canfield assistant police chief, said outside of some anomalies, the trend in OVI-related crashes has been on a steady decline for a number of years.

Sutton said thanks to federal funding for the OVI Task Force, agencies are able to work together to conduct checkpoints, saturation patrols and blitzes, which have discouraged impaired driving.

“It has a great impact on reducing OVI-related injury crashes,” he said.

Weamer said it’s a “two-pronged approach” with the enforcement side of 24 checkpoints a year and news releases letting people know about the checkpoints and providing education as to why they are needed.

“We’re getting lots of visibility. ... The whole point of checkpoints is to raise awareness of the dangers of impaired driving,” he said. “We are promoting better decision making.”

Weamer said he sees a lot of taxi cabs come through checkpoints – evidence that some people take the checkpoints seriously.

“That message is being put out there, and that’s probably the biggest reason we are seeing that increase of designated drivers,” he said.

Uber, a multinational online transportation network company based in San Francisco, is a new option for Youngstown – making a designated driver available by simply having a smartphone.

“It’s as easy as having an app, plugging in some information and there you go,” Weamer said. “It’s a tech-driven world, and people like technology.”

Sutton said no matter which avenue people choose to get home, he just encourages proper planning for the sake of safety.

Comparison statistics for OVI-related crashes in Trumbull County are not yet available, a spokesman said.