A safety group representing state governors says the post-pandemic traffic accident rate is at epidemic proportions. Statistics in Ohio, however, show that 2021 accident rates are reaching the level of 2018 — the last complete year before COVID-19 set in.

Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices across the country, said traffic crashes are at an epidemic level. Nationwide, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported an estimated 38,680 people were killed in U.S. traffic crashes in 2020, the most since 2007, even though total miles driven dropped at the beginning of the pandemic.

In the first three months of 2021, 8,730 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States, a 10.5 percent increase from the same period last year.

Whether pandemic or not, people are still dying on Ohio roads at an alarming rate.

As an example, two men from the Mahoning Valley were killed and a third was injured earlier this month in a traffic accident on Interstate 71 southwest of Akron.

And, Ohio officials predict accident rates will remain high because of the number of deer-related crashes expected in the last quarter of 2021.

An Ohio State Highway Patrol report states a box truck ran into a tractor-trailer that was disabled after striking a deer early on Oct. 24 in Congress Township in Wayne County. The passengers in the box truck, Nicholas Paul Holmes of Girard, 30, and Christopher Ryan Fox, 21, of Youngstown, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, Zachary Thomas Carpenter, 28, of Brookfield, was taken to Akron General Hospital with injuries that troopers described as non-life-threatening, the report states.

Troopers say the accident remains under investigation.

This crash, however, doesn’t figure into the fatalities so far in 2021 for Trumbull and Mahoning counties — 25 for Trumbull and 17 for Mahoning.

“The safety of everyone using our roads is our primary concern,” said Lt. Brian Vail, Warren Post commander for the state patrol. “We ask that motorists do their part to protect themselves and others on the road by committing to safe driving habits.”

“Motorists can help in making our roads safer by driving sober, watching their speed, staying focused on the road — not a phone — and always wearing a safety belt,” Holt said. “All of which are factors we can control as drivers each and every time we get on the road.”

MOST CRASHES

According to data provided by the Ohio Department of Highway Safety, these Mahoning Valley roads had the highest number of crashes since 2016:

U.S. Route 224 in Poland / Boardman / Canfield, 3,570.

State Route 46 Howland/Niles/Austintown/Canfield corridor, 3,160.

U.S. Route 422 Youngstown/Girard/Niles/Warren corridor, 2,852.

Interstate 80 in Mahoning / Trumbull counties (including Ohio Turnpike), 2,094.

U.S. Route 62 Canfield/Youngstown/Hubbard, 1,735

State Route 7 Boardman/Youngstown/Hubbard/Brookfield/Kinsman, 1,642.

The Canfield Police Department does take traffic crash stats into consideration when officers create traffic plans, according to Chief Charles Colucci.

“With all the data considered, our patrol supervisor then issues patrol officers a plan in an attempt to keep the road(s) safer,” Colucci said. “Part of the plan may be more officer and cruiser presence and radar or laser enforcement. One approach we have adopted over the last several years has been talking to more motorists and informing them of the dangers that exist when speeding, following too close and/or distracted driving. In most cases a warning and a polite discussion can be more effective than a citation.”

Colucci also noted a violation his Canfield officers has noticed increasingly is drivers not turning on their headlights at night.

“Most cars are now equipped with daytime running lights. When the headlight switch is not in the automatic position, daytime running lights will be on, giving the driver a false sense of security that their lights are on,” Colucci said. “What they do not realize is that daytime running lights are all that is on. There are no headlights and no rear lights on. This is extremely dangerous.”

Detective Brian Crites is one of the Warren Police Department’s traffic investigators. He writes in a 2020 report that “while the city’s maximum posted speed limit is 35 mph, we still suffer from serious traffic tragedies that sometimes result in death.”

One such fatal accident occurred when Kalen Watson died in an Oct. 7, 2020, two-vehicle crash at Southern Boulevard and Northwest Boulevard NW.

According to the Warren police report for 2020, Market Street leads the way with 103 crashes, followed by Parkman Road with 62 and Youngstown Road with 61.

WATCH FOR DEER

To make matters more challenging for drivers, the Ohio Department of Insurance, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the state patrol warn this is the time of year for increased deer-related crashes.

Trumbull County ranks among the top five counties in the state for deer-related crashes, with Interstate 80 being one of the leading roads sought by Bambi and his friends.

Nearly half of the 100,672 deer-related accidents in the state during the last five years occurred during the months of October, November and December, patrol statistics show. Since 2016, Trumbull and Mahoning counties have totaled 4,100 deer-related crashes.

“As we enter the peak season for car-deer collisions in Ohio, I encourage drivers to use extra caution and slow down, especially at dawn or dusk when deer are more active,” said Gov. Mike DeWine. “A crash with a deer can be just as destructive as a crash with another vehicle, so it’s important that drivers remember to stay alert and watch out for animals crossing the road.”

Deer accounted for 27 fatal crashes in Ohio since 2016, with 28 people killed. Recent insurance data estimates the average claim for a deer-vehicle collision in Ohio is more than $4,000.

Col. Richard Fambro of the patrol reminds motorists to slow down when they see a deer.

“But do not swerve,” Fambro said. “If you strike a deer, move to a safe place if you are able, turn on your hazard lights, and report the crash.”

gvogrin@tribtoday.com