Colonel Kenneth
B. Marshall
Superintendent
Ohio State Highway Patrol
At long last the weather has turned warm, and thoughts move to summer travel and family vacations.
The onset of summer, however, brings its own share of driving hazards.
Summer holidays are traditionally dangerous times on Ohio roadways. A total of 40 people were killed on Ohio roadways last year during the Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day holiday weekends. Alcohol and impaired driving continues to be a contributing factor in too many of these tragedies.
A major source of frustration during summer driving is the seemingly endless road closures, orange barrels, and delays associated with road construction projects. These projects are necessary to ensuring the roadway surfaces are safe for travel.
I urge you to use caution, be patient, and slow down to the posted speed limit when traveling through construction sites.
Statistics show that more children die in motor vehicle crashes than by any other cause. In Ohio, too many children in vehicles are not properly restrained.
Everyone shares responsibility to protect children by complying with Ohio’s child passenger safety laws.
Public education efforts alone are not enough to ensure that drivers buckle up children. Enforcement of child passenger safety laws is a necessary component to saving lives. Last year, troopers issued 3,332 child restraint citations.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that child safety seats, when properly installed and utilized, reduce the risk of death by 69 percent for infants and 47 percent for toddlers.
Adult seat belt use ties into child passenger safety. According to the National Occupant Protection Use Survey: Controlled Intersection Study, when a driver is buckled, restraint use for children up to age 15 is 86.9 percent. When a driver is unbuckled, restraint use for children plummets to a mere 23.7 percent.
The bottom line here is that child safety seats save lives. NHTSA reports that over the period 1982 through 1996, an estimated 3,299 lives were saved nationwide by child restraints.
To this end, the Highway Patrol will join the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign during Buckle Up America! Week, May 18-25.
During this effort, the Patrol will conduct high visibility enforcement of safety belt and child passenger safety laws. The Patrol joins law enforcement from all 50 states in this effort to mobilize America to buckle up children.
Increasing overall seat belt use and reducing child occupant fatalities must be a priority. Patrol enforcement activities during Buckle Up America! Week will contribute significantly to achieving these goals throughout Ohio.
Before embarking on a trip this summer, take time to make sure your vehicle is travel ready. Check your wipers, tires, lights, and fluid levels. Also, make sure the brakes and transmission are working properly.
Many people know it is a good idea to keep an emergency kit in the car during winter months, but the same applies for summer travel.
Your summer car kit should include the following seven items: CB radio or cellular phone; flares or safety reflectors; "Send Help" or "Call Police" signs; white flag or handkerchief; first aid kit; flashlight; and reflective tape.
Should your vehicle break down, move your car well off the road and activate the emergency flashers.
Place flares or reflectors 100 to 200 feet behind your car. Also, tie a white flag or handkerchief to your vehicle antenna or driver’s door, and raise the hood.
Communicate your problem to law enforcement via CB radio, cellular telephone, or a vehicle windshield safety sign. Should this be impossible, signal other drivers to call for assistance. Cellular telephone users can call the Ohio State Highway Patrol for free by dialing *384 (*DUI) to request roadside assistance.
Only accept help from a law enforcement officer or a legitimate service.
Stay in your car with the safety belt fastened until assistance arrives. Keep the doors locked and window partially opened.
Stay safe this summer by slowing down, wearing your safety belt, and avoiding unnecessary risks.