How Butler County officials are targeting drunk driving through Labor Day weekend

Butler County Safe Communities, the Butler County OVI Taskforce, Butler County law enforcement agencies and NHTSA are reminding motorists of the many resources available to get them home safely and avoid “senseless behavior.”

The national enforcement campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, runs through Sept. 2, and the local kickoff was held last week at iFly Cincinnati in Liberty Twp.

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During this period, local law enforcement will show zero tolerance for drunk driving, said Peter Reising, Butler County OVI Taskforce Coordinator. He said increased state and national messages about the dangers of driving impaired, coupled with enforcement and increased officers on the road, aim to drastically reduce drunk driving, what he called “not acceptable behavior.”

Carol Lucio, Safe Communities Coordinator for Safety Council of Southwestern Ohio, said the yearly campaigns have created a “minor reduction” in the number of OVI crashes. She noted there has been an increase in the number of crashes caused by drivers under the influence of marijuana and other drugs.

“If you feel different,” she said, “you drive different.”

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Lucio noted that the statistics prove much work needs to be done to eliminate drunk driving. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 10,874 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2017. From 2013 to 2017, on average, 10,000 people were killed each year, or one person every 48 minutes.

September was the deadliest month for injury and fatal crashes in 2016 and 2017 in Butler County. Of the 406 serious injury of fatal crashes in the county, 45, or 11 percent, occurred in September, followed by December’s 42.

Of those crashes, 246 drivers were impaired by alcohol, 93 had drugs in their blood and 67 had a combination of alcohol and drugs, according to the State Highway Patrol.

Throughout Ohio in 2018, there were 13,364 OVI-related crashes, which resulted in 402 deaths and 7,811 injuries. In 2018, troopers arrested 26,614 drivers for OVI, according to the state patrol.

In 2019 in Butler County there have been 13 fatal crashes. Of those, two have been OVI related and two are pending alcohol and drug testing.

Historically in Butler County, OVI crashes are a major factor in traffic related deaths. In 2018, 26 fatal crashes occurred on Butler County roadways, with 15 of those being OVI related. In 2017 there were 31 fatal crashes with 15 being OVI related.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Post Commander Lt. Clint Arnold said “we need commitment from our community members that they’ll keep the streets free of impaired drivers so that everyone can be safe.”

He said the campaign’s message is that drunk driving is illegal and it takes lives.

Sgt. Joshua Jenkins from the Oxford Police Department said the city is “very unique” because of the high number of pedestrians walking from the bar district to their Miami University dorms or apartments. He said any type of impaired driving “creates an environment for dangers.”

But, he said, Oxford also is benefiting from the high numbers of Uber and Lyft drivers in the city.

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