PATROL GOAL: SAVE LIVES

North Ridgeville – State Patrol Troopers along with Officers and Auxiliaries from the North Ridgeville Police Department were busy Friday night working a sobriety checkpoint on Lorain Road near Lear Nagle.

Lieutenant Glenn Peterson of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said that this is one of several sobriety Checkpoints that they will be conducting this year. “Sobriety chekpoints are set up to deter people from drinking and driving. We actually tell people when these will occur and where we will be – the whole idea is to keep people from drinking and driving. This year we are currently at 50% of our fatal accidents – of the 15 that were killed were directly related to alcohol. Usually we are looking at 20 to 30% as being high and we are at 50 right now in the county.”

Peterson said that a lot of research goes into deciding where to perform a checkpoint. There are many standards that must be met before a location can be chosen and reseaching statistics works into the decision as well. North Rideville has had several fatalities related to alcohol and Officers from North Ridgeville Police have had many OVI arrests, that played a part in chosing the North Ridgeville area. “Currently this year we have had one other chickpoint and that was in Vermilion, we had a major problem in Vermilion with OVI crashes and crashes in general. We have had 7 fatal crashes up on Route 6 in the last two years. We will plan a few more for the county and also assist our friends in Cuyahoga County with one as well.”

Peterson said that over 800 cars went through the checkpoint between the hours of 10PM Friday and 2AM Saturday morning. 51 of those cars were diverted and checked further by Officers and Troopers. Nine were arrested for OVI while 3 were cited for Driving Under Suspension.

When Troopers leave their Post on Cleatus Drive and enter Route 10 there is a sign next to their gate – the sign shows the current number of traffic fatalities for the county. The sign currently reads 15. The goal of Post 47 this year is to keep the number below 22. “I know that sounds like a huge number but if you look at the number of people traveling in Lorain County – if we can do that, if we can achieve that task then we will be successful in what we’re doing.”

Peterson said that over 800 cars went through the checkpoint between the hours of 10PM Friday and 2AM Saturday morning. 51 of those cars were diverted and checked further by Officers and Troopers. Nine were arrested for OVI while 3 were cited for Driving Under Suspension.

When Troopers leave their Post on Cleatus Drive and enter Route 10 there is a sign next to their gate – the sign shows the current number of traffic fatalities for the county. The sign currently reads 15. The goal of Post 47 this year is to keep the number below 22. “I know that sounds like a huge number but if you look at the number of people traveling in Lorain County – if we can do that, if we can achieve that task then we will be successful in what we’re doing.”

One increase that Peterson has seen that concerns him is the increase number of novice motorcycle riders. “The worst part is these drivers have just gone out and gotten their license – they’ve just gone out and bought a new motorcycle and they are driving around out there with little to no experience, experience they really need out there. So that is up also people are driving smaller cars. Smaller cars in accidents, people have less protection in the smaller car so it does affect the fatal numbers.”

Peterson belives strongly in the checkpoints and said his Troopers are working hard to achieve the goals that they have set. “We will continue this through the summer and into the fall, any area that sticks out and just says Help Us, we’re going to go in there and do what we can with the local agencies and see what we can accomplish and hopfully save a few more lives.”

To see more photos from the scene: CLICK HERE