How safe do you feel while driving your vehicle? How about when you are walking after dark in your neighborhood?

Whether you choose to believe it, you are at a greater risk to be injured or killed while in your car than you are to be the victim of a violent crime.

These facts contrast public perceptions indicated in a recent Buckeye State Poll.

A total of 68 percent of respondents in the statewide poll feel very safe driving their cars alone at night near their homes. By contrast, only 50 percent reported feeling safe while walking by themselves in their neighborhood after dark.

Several facts regarding traffic safety issues offer a much different perspective than those held by Buckeye Poll respondents.

Nationally, traffic crash deaths, rank only behind cancer and heart disease as the nation’s leading threat to human life. Two years ago, in 1996, 41,907 people died in motor vehicle crashes. This means that on average one person was killed every 13 minutes in 1996 as a result of a motor vehicle crash.

Traffic crash deaths also largely outnumber the number of homicides each year. A total of 19,645 people were murder victims in 1996. These numbers illustrate that just two years ago over twice as many deaths resulted from traffic crashes as from murders.

Despite crash statistics, more vehicles on Ohio roadways, and an increase of road rage incidents, many citizens do not view motor vehicle crashes as something about which they should be concerned.

Over half of the respondents in the Buckeye Poll indicated they are either rarely or never worried about being injured in a motor vehicle crash.

Obviously troopers cannot be everywhere at all times to observe people driving erratically or aggressively. As a motorist, you can play a large role in helping to keep the roadways in Ohio safe for everyone to travel.

In the past year, over 50 percent of the Buckeye Poll respondents said they had seen a driver they believed was drunk. By contrast, only 13 percent said they had personally witnessed a crime or suspicious incident over the same time span.

Unfortunately, although many Ohio residents admit to having seen a drunk driver, there appears to be a reluctance to report them to the Highway Patrol. Buckeye Poll respondents indicated a greater likelihood to report a crime or suspicious incident than an impaired driver.

Only 19 percent of those who observed an impaired driver stated they had reported that motorist to law enforcement. By comparison, 88 percent of the respondents who saw a crime or suspicious incident reported the event.

Remember, you can report drunk or dangerous drivers to the Highway Patrol by dialing 1-800-GRAB-DUI, or cellular *DUI. Without calls to the toll-free numbers reporting impaired drivers, many drunk drivers continue to elude prosecution for this dangerous offense.

We all share the responsibility of keeping the roadways in Ohio among the safest to travel in the nation. As a member of the motoring public, you can be a great resource for law enforcement. I urge you to take a more active role in traffic safety.

Working together, we can make an impact on saving lives and reducing injuries associated with traffic crashes.