OVI arrests few for New Year’s Eve

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By Jill Kelley, Staff Writer Updated 8:55 AM Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Year’s Eve was quiet throughout the Miami Valley, according to local police departments and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

There were relatively few OVI arrests, and the Dayton Daily News had received no reports of traffic fatalities directly attributed to drunken driving Saturday night as of Sunday afternoon.

This last day of 2011 was representative of a year that saw a statewide decrease in traffic fatalities, as compared to each of the two previous years.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said there were 970 confirmed fatalities during 2011, and 49 more deaths that have not yet been confirmed as traffic fatalities, making the possible total 1,019. That’s down from 1,080 traffic fatalities in 2010 and 1,022 in 2009.

The OSP said it sees a correlation between the decrease in deaths and its stepped-up enforcement targeting impaired drivers. Troopers made more than 23,000 arrests in 2011 for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, which is an increase of 1,500 OVI arrests compared to 2010.

On Saturday night and into early Sunday, the Montgomery County post of the OSP reported making seven drunken driving arrests on the traditionally alcohol-infused holiday — which may have been the most of any individual jurisdiction.

The Miami County OSP post picked up three for driving under the influence, while just one alcohol-related arrest was reported by the OSP post in Warren County. The Greene County OSP post said it had no OVI reports for the holiday.

Police departments from Beavercreek to Vandalia and down through Franklin also reported an uneventful New Year’s Eve, with few drunken driving arrests.

In Kettering, police held an OVI Task Force on Friday night and stopped a number of drunken drivers, but Kettering reported zero OVI arrests on Saturday night.

Officer Ron Roberts said the Task Force chose Friday rather than Saturday for the targeted enforcement because, in recent years, there have been fewer drivers out on New Year’s Eve.

That trend appears to have held true for 2011.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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