-Traffic deaths are on the rise in Ohio confirming the numbers reported by NHTSA last month. While the Ohio Highway Patrol is chalking it up to drunks and seat belt usage, it is my theory that the rise in fatalities is due to motorist ignorance and lack of proper vehicle maintenance. If you can’t stop, you will die!
Ohio Traffic Deaths Rise in 2012
COLUMBUS — The number of people killed on Ohio roads increased in 2012 compared with the previous year’s record low, even as troopers from the Ohio Highway Patrol made thousands more stops for drug violations, impaired driving and other problems.
The patrol reported at least 1,056 deaths in 962 fatal crashes during the past year, up from 1,015 deaths in 2011, which was the lowest total since record-keeping began in 1936.
Hamilton, Mercer, Trumbull and Warren counties each had at least 10 more traffic fatalities in 2012 than in the previous year, according to preliminary data.
Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Anne Ralston said it’s too soon to understand the reasons for the increase in deaths, though she noted that an increase during the first half of the year reflected a similar trend at the national level.
Ohio also has at least 45 unconfirmed crash fatalities, which include those that remain under investigation and may not ultimately be ruled traffic deaths.