Road fatality stats shared ahead of Super Bowl weekend
The commission, with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Allen County Coroner's Office, held a press conference Thursday morning to present this information ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.
"2024 was a fairly safe year, not the safest by far, but in terms of fatalities, it was a good year," Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Powell said. "Over the last year, we did see an increase in crashes with mature drivers, so we talked a bit about making that decision to maybe not drive at night as you age. There might be a point where you have to decide it's not safe for you to drive because you don't want something bad to happen or if you have to help a family member in that same situation so they're safe."
Lima-Allen County Regional Planning Commission planning engineer Adam Haunhorst drafted the report and said the vast majority of crashes occur on dry roads during the day.
"Of all those, three people who died were not wearing their safety equipment," he said. "Two of them involved alcohol and drugs, so those are the important things we like to emphasize every year. There isn't always a pattern, so we all need to be doing our part all the time."
Haunhorst said this can happen because drivers are lulled into a false sense of security, unlike when conditions are as severe as Thursday's icy, wet roads.
Powell stressed the importance of wearing safety belts.
"When you're in a rollover crash and you're not wearing a safety belt, it's completely rolling the dice," he said. "You could be ejected from the vehicle, and it could roll on top of you. That's a crash you would have probably walked away from otherwise, so we want everyone to be safe all the time on the roadway."
Ahead of a weekend in which many people are hosting parties around a football game, Powell advised residents to make a plan ahead of time to avoid driving under the influence.
"You do need to be sober to drive, and .08 is a fairly low number, especially if you have a lower body weight," he said. "If you're going to a party and you're going to be drinking and/or using marijuana, you need to have a plan for how you're going to get home. Have a designated driver set up or someone you can call to get a ride home, or even spend the night where you are. If you see somebody that's about to drive, if you care about them, step in and keep them from making a big mistake."
The Ohio Divisions of Liquor and Cannabis Control sent out a reminder along those lines, advising party attendees to plan ahead, stay hydrated and nourished and follow the rules.
Among the nine fatalities from the crashes, one was recorded as a pedestrian, seven as motorists and one as a bicyclist.
The county compared favorably to the national average in data crashes involving impaired driving and lack of safety belt but was above the national average of fatal crashes involving speeding.
For more information and to provide comment on the report, visit bit.ly/4g8bA6L.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
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