COLUMBUS, Ohio — According to statistics released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, fatal traffic crashes and impaired driving incidents during the recent July 4 holiday weekend decreased year-over-year from 2021.
While troopers responded to 4.3 percent more crashes than last year over the holiday reporting period – which this year ran from Friday, July 1 to Monday, July 4 – crashes resulted in 16 fatalities, seven fewer than the 23 fatalities reported in 2021 and the lowest figure since 2018 when eight fatalities were reported.
Impaired driving and distracted driving incidents also decreased by about 18 percent from last year’s holiday weekend, with 444 OVI arrests and 259 distracted driving cases. Last year, troopers made 539 OVI arrests and 332 distracted driving citations.
Drug arrests also dramatically decreased: the OSHP reported 239 drug-related arrests, down nearly 36 percent from 2021.
Across the board, 2022 saw 5,041 fewer incidents requiring trooper enforcement than the 2021 period, and all incident categories except crashes saw a decrease from last year.
The 2021 data used for comparison was also collected over a 4-day stretch from Friday, July 2 to Monday, July 5.
Of the 16 fatalities recorded over the holiday weekend, four were determined to have been related to an OVI incident. Seatbelts were only found to definitively have been used in two of the fatal crashes, with six others categorized as “Not Used” or “Not Installed/Unknown,” according to Highway Patrol statistics.
Felony arrests also decreased 45 percent from 194 in 2021 to 106 this year.
Of the 34,406 total incidents recorded this year by OSHP, Franklin County led the way with 1,397. Warren County came second with 1,028 incidents, with all other Ohio counties tallying fewer than 1,000.
More Headlines:
