Ohio has been named the most dangerous state in the country to drive in by a firm that compiles data for auto insurance companies. Instead of looking at accident statistics and injury and fatality figures, Insurify scrutinized driving records to compile its list. The Buckeye State also emerged as the most dangerous part of the country for road users in 2019.
Accidents, speeding and drunk driving
The data Insurify used to compile its report was taken from an insurance database that contains information on 2.5 million American drivers. After crunching the numbers, the researchers found that 16.10% of the Ohio drivers had been cited for speeding at least once, 13.37% had reported an accident to their insurance providers and 2.72% had been arrested for driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs. In Michigan, which has the safest roads in the country according to the report, about half as many drivers have these blemishes on their records.
OVI enforcement
Statistics released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol suggest that drunk driving is becoming even more of a problem in the state. Due to reduced traffic levels, the number of traffic stops initiated by troopers fell from 547,019 in 2019 to 357,304 in 2020. That represents a drop of almost 35%. However, the number of OVI enforcement incidents only fell from 21,950 to 16,151. That is a drop of just over 26%.
Probable cause in drunk driving cases
Police officers and state troopers in Ohio may only pull vehicles over when they have seen them commit traffic violations or have good reason to believe that their drivers are engaging in criminal activity. When experienced criminal defense attorneys study drunk driving police reports and determine that traffic stops may have been initiated without probable cause, they may challenge the legality of the police officer’s behavior and argue that DUI charges should be dropped.