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The number of people who died in alcohol-related crashes grew last year in Ohio, one of the few states where drunken-driving deaths got worse in 2010.
Nationwide, the death toll from drunken driving dropped 4.9 percent, according to statistics released Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That’s more than 500 fewer fatalities.
In Ohio, federal and state numbers differed, but both showed an increase. The feds show an increase of 5 percent; the state, 10 percent.
“We seem to be lagging behind,” said Doug Scoles, executive director of Ohio’s Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter.
In Clark County, two drivers died in alcohol-related crashes in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, Lt. Matthew Cleaveland, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Springfield Post, said Thursday. The figures only represent how many people died in a crash as the result of a driver being drunk.
During that time period, OVI stops in the county increased to 361 in 2011, up from 308 in 2010 and 324 in 2009.
“We are seeing positive results from the hard work of our troopers on the road every day removing impaired and dangerous drivers from the roadways,” Cleaveland said. “As the patrol’s OVI arrests increase, we are seeing a direct correlation in the decrease of overall fatalities.”
Champaign County had one fatal crash so far in 2011 and one in 2010, up from no fatal crashes in 2009. OVI stops in Champaign decreased each year from 57 stops in 2009 to 49 in 2010 and 40 in 2011. A commander with the Marysville post could not be reached Thursday for how many of those deaths were a result of a driver being drunk.
A total of 431 people died in crashes blamed on drunken drivers last year, compared with 390 in 2009, according to OSP statistics. The federal report said 341 died in 2010 and 325 died in 2009.
However, the number of crashes and injuries blamed on drunken driving decreased from 2009 to 2010, according to state figures.
So far this year, deaths are down and drunken-driving citations are up, said Lt. Anne Ralston of the OSP.
The two are likely related.
About one-third of all car-crash deaths in Ohio and nationwide are alcohol-related, which is a reason for high-profile checkpoints and well-publicized crackdowns on drunken driving by law-enforcement officials.
Agencies across the state plan to step up enforcement during the holidays. Starting Friday, more officers, deputies and troopers will be deployed on Ohio roads through Jan. 2.
Kristen Castle, spokeswoman for the Office of Criminal Justice Services in the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said more than 80 agencies will take part. A federal grant will pay for overtime.
Ralston said state troopers also will take part.
“If we can reduce the number of impaired drivers on our roads, we can reduce the number of fatalities in the state of Ohio,” she said.
Nationally, the District of Columbia posted the biggest decline — 55 percent — in drunken-driving deaths last year. New Hampshire saw the biggest increase.
On Ohio’s borders, fewer drunken-driving deaths were reported in West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan. Deaths increased in Pennsylvania.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said yesterday that his department will spend $7 million nationwide during the holiday season to air TV ads reminding drivers that law-enforcement officers are on the roads looking for intoxicated drivers.
Last year, 415 people were killed during the holiday season in crashes blamed on drunken drivers.
In Ohio, Scoles said MADD is pushing for legislation that would require convicted drunken drivers to install devices on their cars that require a breath test to start the engine.
Seventeen states require ignition interlock devices for first-time drunken drivers, and Scoles said deaths have dropped as a result. In West Virginia, alcohol-related fatalities have declined 38 percent since such a law took effect in 2008, according to MADD.
Staff writer Mark McGregor contributed to this report.
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