During the fall of 2024, the Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO) utilized grant funding to promote safe alternatives to driving impaired.
Every day, about 34 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that's one person every 42 minutes. In 2023, 12,429 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths. These deaths were all preventable. In Ohio, there are 11,000 drunk driving-related crashes a year, resulting in 300 deaths and 4,600 injuries (approximately).
OTSO promoted safe transportation alternatives and preventing impaired driving during Halloween and the week of Thanksgiving, which included Ohio State’s annual rivalry football game against Michigan in Columbus. Ohio saw the fewest traffic deaths for the Thanksgiving reporting period since 2018. In 2024, 8 people were killed in 7 crashes during the 5-day period. Of the 7 fatal crashes, one involved impaired driving. In 2023, 13 people were killed in 12 fatal crashes on Ohio’s roadways. Almost half of those crashes involved a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs.
They were one of two State Highway Safety Offices to receive a grant from GHSA and ride-hailing company Lyft, to encourage responsible choices and discourage driving after consuming alcohol through ride credits and education.
This grant funding provided 393 rides, each of which took a potential impaired driver off the road. Through social media ads and organic reach, the program had 1,275,841 impressions.
