Agencies create OVI task force

Star Beacon

March 06, 2008 11:25 pm

— Several local law-enforcement agencies have joined together to create a county-wide OVI (operating a vehicle while impaired) task force, along with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and UH-Geneva Medical Center.
OVI continues to contribute significantly to crashes that result in serious injury and to fatalities. Drunk driving is one of the U.S.’s deadliest crimes, said Lt. Mike Harmon of OHP’s Ashtabula post.
Local agencies have formed a multijurisdictional task force to intercept impaired drivers and educate the public about the dangers of impaired driving. The OVI task force is designed to remove impaired drivers from Ashtabula County’s roads, Harmon said.
“The mission is simple: Arrest impaired drivers and make our roadways safe,” he said.
During 2007, 24 people died on Ashtabula County roads. Seven deaths were totally needless, the direct result of impaired driving. While these numbers may not seem high, Ashtabula County’s statistics are in the top 10 in Ohio for fatal crashes, Harmon said.
“Four people have already been killed so far in 2008 in an OVI-related crash in Austinburg Township,” he said. “This statistic does not bode well for Ashtabula County travelers. That is why the OVI task force is taking action.”
Sgt. Paul Dibble of the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department, who heads the task force, said it will operate about 23 OVI checkpoints during 2008, from April through September. The task force will begin operations during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Harmon said.
Harmon said troopers also will participate in the OVI patrols and checkpoints.
The Task Force is composed of officers from the sheriff’s department, OHP, Ashtabula , Conneaut, Geneva, Geneva-on-the-Lake and Orwell police departments and Ashtabula County Safe Communities.
Funding for the OVI Task Force is provided in part by federal, state and private sources.
The Ohio Department of Transportation will provide assistance at the checkpoints.