14-03-2025
How many Ohio OVI arrests involve repeat offenders?
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — St. Patrick's Day week often comes with reminders about not driving impaired, but numbers from the state show thousands of the same Ohio drivers are repeatedly making the wrong decision.
Troopers with the Ohio State Ohio Patrol (OSHP) are preparing for St. Patrick's Day weekend when they'll be out on the roads, trying to keep those driving under the influence off them.
'Those are times for people to get together, enjoy themselves, enjoy their family, enjoy their friends,' OSHP Sgt. Ryan Purpura said. 'We don't want that decision to get behind the wheel impaired, have that memory be something tragic.'
With cell phones and rideshare widely available, Purpura said there's no excuse to be driving drunk or on drugs.
'There is really no reason, it is 100% preventable, right,' he said. 'I mean, getting behind the wheel impaired is a choice.'
But during one week in the beginning of March, three drivers with previous OVI's were arrested in central Ohio for similar actions again, according to the OSHP. For one driver, it was their sixth OVI offense in 10 years; for another, it was their fourth in five years; for the third, it was the fifth in less than 10 years.
'It's just uncalled for,' Purpura said. 'People need to realize that when they get behind the wheel impaired, they're not only putting themselves at risk, they're putting the people next to them on the roadways at risk.'
Numbers from the OSHP's OVI dashboard showed 30% of the patrol's 82,565 OVI arrests since 2020 have been repeat offenders. Those numbers are just from that agency. Based on data from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which includes numbers from all of the state's law enforcement agencies, the repeat offender percentage is about 38%.
'We're not saying not to go out and have a good time, but we are saying just do that safely,' Purpura said.
Over the last five years, the state has averaged more than 1,100 deadly crashes a year; about half involve impaired driving, according to Purpura.
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