Licking
County Safe Communities
The Licking County Safe Communities Coalition, comprised of representatives from health, social, law enforcement, business, fire, emergency medical service, and education organizations as well as community leaders, guides this program.
The Licking County Health Department, Licking Memorial Hospital, State Farm Insurance, area banks, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Licking Co. Sheriff, and others, are participating in the seat belt use campaign, "What's Holding You Back", conducted through the Ohio Dept. of Public Safety.
Please (740) 349-6535 if you are interested in becoming a Safe Communities Coalition member.
2005 - 2007 Licking County Traffic Fatalities
SAFETY BELTS SAVE LIVES
Most serious crashes involve impact speeds of less than 35 mph. Fatalities involving non-belted occupants of cars have been recorded at as low as 12 mph - about the speed you would be driving in a parking lot.
Three out of four crashes causing death occur within 25 miles of home.
You are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured if you’re thrown from the car. The forces in a collision can be great enough to fling you as far as 150 feet - about 15 car lengths.
Less than one half of 1 percent of all injury-producing collisions involve fire or submersion. But if fire or submersion occurs, you’re more likely to be unhurt, alert and capable of escaping quickly, if you are wearing a safety belt.
All belts are designed to let you reach necessary driving controls, and the newer shoulder belt retractors give you even more freedom. But in a collision or sudden stop, the belt locks in place.
A lap belt greatly reduces your chances of being seriously injured. But the addition of a shoulder belt provides even more protection. During a crash, the shoulder belt keeps your head and chest from striking the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield.
Safety belts plus air bags are the "winning combination." Safety belts protect in all kinds of crashes and the air bag provides supplemental protection in serious head-on crashes.
DRINKING AND DRIVING AND YOU
Nearly 40% of all traffic fatalities are alcohol related. That means at least one of the drivers or pedestrians involved in the crash had alcohol in his or her body.
About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives. Research has clearly shown measurable impairment occurs in most people at .05 BAC. Important driving skills are impaired at .08 BAC for all people.
Sobriety checkpoints are effective in reducing impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes.
- Drivers report that they are less likely to drive after drinking when they know checkpoints are being conducted in their area.
- The public overwhelmingly approves of using sobriety checkpoints to reduce alcohol-related crashes.
Friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Steps you can take to save a life!
- Take a stand. Make sure your friends have a sober ride home.
- Take the keys. Don’t let a drinker get behind the wheel.
- Call a cab. If you’ve been drinking, don’t risk an arrest or a crash. Take a cab, and make sure your friends do the same.
Support your local police in their efforts to curb drunk driving by conducting sobriety checkpoints and to increase seatbelt use by enforcing the belt use and child passenger safety laws.