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Troopers report fewer Ohio traffic deaths for 2011

OVI arrests few for New Year’s Eve

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By KANTELE FRANKO, The Associated Press Updated 1:32 PM Sunday, January 1, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Preliminary data indicates the number of people killed on Ohio roadways decreased slightly in 2011 compared with the previous year, the State Highway Patrol said Sunday.

The patrol reported 970 confirmed fatalities and 49 unconfirmed deaths, which includes those still under investigation or that may not be ruled a traffic fatality and those for which officials don't yet have a report, patrol spokeswoman Lt. Anne Ralston said. That makes the possible total 1019 fatalities for the year.

That's down from 1,080 traffic fatalities in 2010 and 1,022 in 2009, the lowest total since record-keeping began in 1936.

The patrol sees a link between the decrease in deaths and its stepped-up enforcement targeting impaired drivers, said its superintendent, Col. John Born.

Troopers made more than 23,000 arrests in 2011 for drivers operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That's at least 1,500 more OVI arrests than in 2010.

"While the increase in OVI arrests troopers made helped us reverse the spike from last year and likely achieve the safest year on our roads, we have a long way to go," Born said. "Too many deaths remain very preventable."

Advocacy groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving praise the data as a step in the right direction.

The final count of fatalities probably won't be available until spring as the reporting and investigations continue, and the number is likely to fall somewhere between the number of confirmed deaths and the possible total, Ralston said.

The unconfirmed deaths included five from this weekend, she said. The patrol had urged New Year's revelers to avoid driving impaired, stay alert while on the roadways and plan alternate transportation if needed.

There were 10 traffic deaths recorded in the three-day New Year's holiday period in 2010, according to the patrol. Seven of those deaths were linked to impaired drivers.

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January 01, 2012 04:44 PM EST

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