17 deaths on Ohio roadways over Memorial Day weekend

COLUMBUS — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is reporting 17 deaths on Ohio’s roadways during the 2022 Memorial Day weekend according to provisional statistics. This Memorial Day saw more fatalities than last year, when there were 15 traffic deaths during the weekend. The four-day reporting period began Friday, May 27 and ran through Monday, May 30.

State troopers made 26,150 traffic enforcement contacts including: 490 OVI arrests, 299 drug arrests and 3,992 safety belt citations. In addition, the Patrol made 13,249 nonenforcement contacts including 2,706 motorist assists.

Troopers remind motorists that roadway safety is a shared responsibility.

Everyone can contribute to making our roadways safer by following traffic laws, wearing safety belts and driving sober.

You can help contribute to a safer Ohio by calling #677 to report drug activity and dangerous or impaired driving.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol also reported figures from its collaborative project with other state units.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol and other members of the 6-State Trooper Project recently collaborated in a safety belt enforcement project. The initiative began Monday, May 23 and ended Monday, May 30. The high-visibility enforcement included the Indiana State Police, Kentucky State Police, Michigan State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, West Virginia State Police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

During the 6-State Trooper Project, the Patrol charged 4,712 drivers with safety belt violations and 151 child safety seat citations.

In all, the six states charged 9,590 with safety belt violations and 527 child safety seat citations.

Ohio’s safety belt law remains a secondary violation; however, troopers will continue zero-tolerance enforcement when motorists are stopped for other violations and are found to not be wearing their safety belt. This effort coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Click It or Ticket campaign as well as Operation CARE.

The 6-State Trooper Project is a multi-state law enforcement partnership aimed at providing combined and coordinated law enforcement and security services in the areas of highway safety, criminal patrol and intelligence sharing.

For a complete breakdown of activity, please visit StatePatrol.ohio. gov/links/2022_6State TrooperCombinedResu lts_SafetyBelt.pdf.