Richland Public Health Commissioner Martin Tremmel announced the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) awarded $35,709.01 in federal traffic safety funding to the Health Department for federal fiscal year 2015.
“Partnerships are critical to the success of any safety effort and we are committed to working with law enforcement and other safety partners to address traffic safety concerns in Richland County,” said Tremmel.
Richland Public Health has identified that a public health priority exists focusing on traffic safety in Richland County. To save lives and improve the quality of life for our citizens, Richland Public Health will use the grant funds to continue Richland County “Safe Communities Coalition” efforts in the areas of seat belt use, impaired driver awareness, and motorcycle safety awareness.
The funds are passed through ODPS from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to support the efforts of safety partners statewide and focus on traffic safety priority areas such as restraint use, impaired driving, motorcycle safety and teen drivers.
Competitive grant proposals are accepted and reviewed by the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. The FFY 2015 competitive grant process solicited grant proposals for traffic safety initiatives from state agencies, non-profit organizations, colleges, universities, hospitals, political subdivisions and other interested groups within selected Ohio counties and jurisdictions based upon the number of fatal crashes.
For more information about ODPS and statewide efforts to improve safety on Ohio’s roadways, log on to http://www.odps.ohio.gov.