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Troopers turn to key roads to curb crashes, speeding

Stretches of U.S. 36 and 68 and Ohio 4, 29 and 235 will be the focus of a plan to reduce crashes.

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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer 10:59 PM Saturday, November 7, 2009

After reviewing data on crashes and citations they’ve collected throughout the year, troopers will soon step up patrols in several areas of the county with the most injuries.

The initiative, which will also focus on enforcing seat belt laws, will focus on roads that include U.S. 36, U.S. 68 and Ohio 4, 29 and 235. It will include stretches of roads in Champaign, Union and Logan counties, said Lt. Rick Zwayer, commander of the Marysville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Zwayer said supervisors at the post review crash statistics on a quarterly basis and try to determine if there are any areas where troopers can make a significant impact to reduce crashes.

Statewide, statistics show that 20 percent of all car passenger traffic deaths are front-seat passengers who were not wearing seat belts. While Zwayer said seat belts will not prevent all injuries, but they can reduce the chances of more serious injuries.

During the initiative, Zwayer said troopers will pass out information along with the warning or citation to let drivers know more about why they are being stopped. The additional information generally helps drivers understand that there is a specific reason troopers are pulling them over, and that it’s not just for the sake of writing a ticket, Zwayer said.

“It gives much more meaning to the drivers and passengers, and then they’re able to pass it on to others,” he said.

He said typically these types of initiatives last about 30 days and will be evaluated to determine if they have made an impact. In all, about 30 percent of the 922 crashes the post handled this year were injury crashes, Zwayer said. The majority occurred between 5 and 9 a.m., 2 and 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Wednesday through Saturday, he said.

“We try to educate them on the fact that there is a particular problem in a particular area that we’re looking to address, he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.

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