Traffic fatalities down this holiday season in Ohio, here's the reason why
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) reported 11 fatalities over the Fourth of July reporting period for the state of Ohio. The reporting period spanned from 12 a.m. July 3 through 11:59 p.m. on July 4.
According to a release by the OSHP, this year's study included 249 reported crashes, 133 OVI incidents, 1,288 seat belt infractions, 96 drug-related incidents, 39 felony arrests and nine felony warrants issued and several other categories. Of the 11 fatalities, three were not wearing a seat belt and two were incidents where the victims were operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
While the 11 fatalities and all other traffic violations within the study are fewer than each of the previous three years, those numbers were under a different sample size.
Over the previous three years, the OSHP returned statistics over a four-day period, from July 1 through July 4 in 2022 and July 2 through July 5 in 2021 and 2020. The number of fatalities dropped from 25 to 23 to 16 respectively.
Tyler Ross from the OSHP’s Office of the Superintendent said that the reporting periods for certain holidays can change from year to year, based on several factors, one of which being what day of the week a holiday falls on.
“The length of the reporting period depends on the day the holiday lands," Ross said. "For example, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving all fall on the same day of the week each year – so the reporting period for those holidays does not change. By falling on the same days per week each year, the comparison there would be a little better. But for holidays that change depending on when the date lands (Fourth of July), the data would be skewed.”
Ross said there can be too many variables when a holiday falls on a different day of the week each year. Other factors include weather, staffing, significant events or unpredictable special details.
“We don’t tend to do comparisons on activity because there’s too many variables and factors that can influence OSHP activity from year to year,” Ross said.
However, a document included in the OSHP release provided a statewide reported activity recap, with one chart titled “Traffic Fatality Comparison” and another titled “Activity Comparison." The latter included stats for the years 2022 and 2023 for incidents that included crashes, OVI, suspended licenses, distracted driving, drugs, felony arrests and felony warrants issued, among others.
The “Activity Comparison” chart also included a column titled “percentage difference +/-“ which listed all incidents reporting a reduction between 55.5 and 70.2 percent from the previous year.
The number of OVI infractions, for example, dropped from 447 over a four-day period to 133 over a two-day period, over a 70% reduction, according to the chart. Documented crashes were listed at 560 last year and 249 this year (-55.5%).
Ross said the holiday reporting schedule is subject to change, but is used to determine the general schedule for holiday reporting periods. A holiday falling on a Monday or Tuesday generates a study during a two-day period. A holiday on a Thursday includes five days in the study. The other days offer statistics over a four-day period.
| Holiday Day | Reporting Period |
| Sunday | Friday - Monday |
| Monday | Friday - Monday |
| Tuesday | Monday - Tuesday |
| Wednesday | Tuesday - Wednesday |
| Thursday | Wednesday - Sunday |
| Friday | Thursday - Sunday |
| Saturday | Thursday - Sunday |
Franklin County led all Ohio counties with 949 total reported incidents this year, compared to 395 in Clermont County, 351 in Summit County and 334 in Mahoning County.