By 1812Blockhouse
Whatever the case it is clear that, based on recent numbers shared by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the state as a whole has seen a modest decrease in traffic citations and activity over the last eleven months. That trend has been slightly more precipitous in Richland County.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for traffic fatalities. Since the start of the year, 16 people have been killed in automobile crashes, as compared to 15 in 2022 and 14 in 2021 for the same period. While three such incidents took place on or near I71, none occurred on US30.
What follows is a breakdown of Patrol activity during 2022 and 2023 (through December 10).
Richland County
| YTD Activity | 2023 | 2022 |
| Enforcement Stops | 6,242 | 7,431 |
| Non-Enforcement Activity | 13,345 | 15,376 |
| Warnings | 3,034 | 4,175 |
| Motorist Assists | 2,656 | 3,335 |
| Crashes Investigated | 1,500 | 1,561 |
| OVI Enforcement | 312 | 321 |
| Driving Under Suspension Enforcement | 366 | 514 |
| Seatbelt Enforcement | 504 | 764 |
| Distracted Driving Violations | 69 | 89 |
| Commercial Vehicle Enforcement | 965 | 963 |
| Felony Arrests | 65 | 82 |
| Felony Warrants Served | 12 | 24 |
| Misdemeanor Summons Issued | 129 | 185 |
| Misdemeanor Warrants Issued | 109 | 127 |
| Drug Violations | 117 | 171 |
| Identity Theft Enforcement | 2 | 2 |
| Resisting Arrest Violations | 21 | 29 |
| Weapons Violations | 14 | 23 |
Statewide
| YTD Activity | 2023 | 2022 |
| Enforcement Stops | 378,938 | 380,893 |
| Non-Enforcement Activity | 539,465 | 569,231 |
| Warnings | 237,800 | 241,876 |
| Motorist Assists | 122,668 | 142,410 |
| Crashes Investigated | 49,832 | 52,699 |
| OVI Enforcement | 14,416 | 14,408 |
| Driving Under Suspension Enforcement | 21,217 | 21,861 |
| Seatbelt Enforcement | 53,145 | 57,599 |
| Distracted Driving Violations | 8,262 | 8,523 |
| Commercial Vehicle Enforcement | 44,865 | 35,473 |
| Felony Arrests | 4,767 | 4,711 |
| Felony Warrants Served | 1,076 | 1,132 |
| Misdemeanor Summons Issued | 7,800 | 7,829 |
| Misdemeanor Warrants Issued | 3,689 | 3,774 |
| Drug Violations | 8,093 | 8,050 |
| Identity Theft Enforcement | 69 | 73 |
| Resisting Arrest Violations | 1,049 | 997 |
| Weapons Violations | 977 | 1,018 |
Raymond Wambsgans from Akron Ohio, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
