Residents in Ohio should be able to trust that the efforts of advocacy groups, law enforcement agencies and other entities focused on public safety have made strides in getting drivers to be willing to put away their keys if they are going to drink. Unfortunately, there seem to be quite a lot of people who are simply too selfish to make this respectful and responsible choice.
Records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that for each year between 2013 and 2017, alcohol was a contributing factor in anywhere between 27% and 30% of all vehicular fatalities in Ohio. In 2013, 266 people died at the hands of drunk drivers statewide. That dipped to 302 the following year and then increased every year after. In 2017, there were 333 alcohol-related automobile accident deaths recorded.
It would appear that the laws in Ohio are not doing enough to keep people safe. A driver convicted of a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol offense is not even required to use an ignition interlock device until they have been convicted of at least three offenses. A person’s license is only suspended for 90 days after a first offense. If they choose to install an IID, they may drive in as few as 15 days after their OVI incident.
Even when people are not killed, accidents still happen. According to a report by Fox 8 Cleveland, a recent incident in Franklin County saw a drunk driver head directly into a trooper’s vehicle after he turned on his lights to pull the vehicle over for suspected drunk driving.
