The Ross County Health District was awarded $38,500 through the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Safe Communities grant to promote traffic safety awareness in Ross County. The grant requires a local coalition to meet regularly for discussion of education and prevention activities. Safe Communities education will be provided at select community events throughout the year such as festivals, homecoming dances, proms, and more. Safe Communities is awarded based on a three-year average of seatbelt usage. In the past three years (2020-2022), 29 lives were lost on Ross County roads.
The goal of the Safe Communities grant is to reduce preventable crashes by increasing seatbelt usage, teen driver safety and motorcycle safety awareness as well as reducing distracted and impaired driving. Specific awareness campaigns will include the messages of Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over; Click it or Ticket; Stay Alive, Don’t Text and Drive; as well as Look Out for Motorcycles. Ross County Health Commissioner Janelle McManis affirmed, “The more attention we can give to safe driving practices, the safer our roads will be for everyone.
The awareness and education components of the Safe Communities grant will help local drivers prioritize safety and stay mindful that everyone else on the road is directly impacted by the actions they take while behind the wheel.”