Ohio Safe Communities representatives and law enforcement representatives met at the Kehoe Center in Shelby on Friday and discussed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration programs for “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket.” The region’s communities shared their upcoming activities and heard from local media representatives.
Law enforcement representatives of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, county sheriff departments, police departments, and Safe Community agencies were represented from Ashland, Crawford, Holmes, Huron, Lorain, Marion, Ottawa, Richland and Wayne counties.
The programs’ next enforcement campaigns will run from August 15 through September 1. Some of the examples of program enforcement included Lorrain County’s partnership with local baseball team, the Lake Erie Crushers and the Crushers’ free admission to students. Lorrain County’s law enforcement officials were able to reach a large audience of students with the message to “Drive Sober.”
The Wayandot Sheriff’s Department and Safe Communities agency will conduct OBI checkpoints during the Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival and Huron County will conduct two checkpoints in the fall during high school football games.
Vigilance pays off. Ashland County Deputy Sheriff Curt Schneider stated, “We’ve been fortunate in the “Click it or Ticket” aspect. OBIs are down, fatalities are down, and seat belt use is up.”
Reed Richmond, Health Educator at Richland Public Health and a Safe Communities spokesperson said that in May surveys were conducted for “Click It or Ticket” in northern Mansfield and found that seatbelt usage was only at 64 percent.
“After we did ‘Click It or Ticket,’ our post-test survey showed and 18 percent increase in seat belt use in that area. We’re really pleased with that,” said Richmond.
He also explained that the Richland County kick-off of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” message will be a mini-golf event at Der Dutchman Mini-Golf in Bellville on August 16. Teams from the Safe Communities Coalition will partner with high school students, law enforcement, and members of the media to complete a tournament will all members wearing fatal vision goggles.
“If you can’t do something as easy as mini-golf, how can you expect to drive a car while legally impaired,” explained Richmond.
Frank Arvay, Law Enforcement Liaison for Safe Communities talked about communications between law enforcement agencies. After the various departments shared their planned enforcement events Arvay stated, “I would suggest, as we’re building these coalitions, that we try to get people to show up to these events,” specifically suggesting ODOT and county engineers, for example. “It’s good to build your coalitions together. Think about who you can include in your group.”
Arvay noted that road closures are one safety concern where law enforcement and those with the knowledge of impending road closures can work together to further public safety.
Lt. Chad Enderby, Post Commander of the Mansfield Ohio State Highway Patrol, organized a media panel to launch the day’s session. Media representatives from the Mansfield News Journal, Richland Source, WKLM of Wayne and Holmes County, and WMFD of Mansfield participated.
The goal was for the media to provide an overview of their specific areas (TV, newspaper, internet and radio) and share ideas for improved understanding for cooperation between the media and law enforcement.
