Traffic Safety

Defiance County General Health District (DCGHD) promotes safe behaviors for drivers of all ages. To increase community awareness and education of risky driving behaviors, DCGHD continues to receive funding from the Safe Communities Grant. Grant funds are used to promote traffic safety initiatives to save lives and improve the quality of life for Defiance County. DCGHD collaborates with local law enforcement and community agencies to fulfill selected initiatives such as Click It or Ticket and the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaigns.

In facilitating the Defiance County Safe Communities Coalition, DCGHD will conduct Coalition meetings, Fatal Review meetings, attend OTSO Regional meetings, and conduct required kick-off events. A full list of events can be found here. The Health Department is required to attend 8 community events this grant year. Please note, some events may be cancelled or rescheduled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

DCGHD has the following goals outlined in the Safe Communities Grant for the 2023 grant year:

Increase seat belt restraint usage to 87.8% by September 30, 2023
- The current county seat belt restraint usage baseline (provided by University of Akron) is 83.8%.

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DCGHD will promote use of seat belts in Defiance County by partnering with local law enforcement, Defiance County schools, and community agencies by expanding Defiance County Safe Communities Coalition to participate activities and events including the “Click It or Ticket” kick-off event. DCGHD and coalition members will increase awareness and support enforcement of restraint use by participating in mandatory traffic safety blitzes and community events. Surveys will be utilized at events to provide measurable outcomes. Media presence such as newspaper, radio, and/or social media will be requested to attend events throughout Defiance County to support and promote traffic safety messages.

Increase public awareness of seat belt usage, impaired driving, distracted driving, motorcycle, motorcyclists and other problem ID specific traffic safety related issues.
- Safe Communities reached 207933 people last year.

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Promote the Ohio Traffic Safety Office specified traffic safety campaign messages through the use of the media planners and marketing materials, participate in community events to interact with the community, distribute traffic safety related materials, provide campaign specific information to local media outlets, promote the two national campaigns and serve as a traffic safety resource within the county.

Risky Driving

Risky Driving includes drunk driving, drug-impaired driving, distracted driving, improper seat belt use, speeding, drowsy driving, and other risky behaviors. Click the link below to learn more about Risky Driving Behaviors.

Risky Driving

Road Safety

Road Safety includes safety on and off the road. Safety measures include child safety, teen driving, adapted vehicles (vehicles that meet the needs of people with disabilities), pedestrian safety, bicycle safety, and more. Click the link below to learn more about Road Safety.

Road Safety

Traffic Statistics

The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) provides county level statistics for traffic activity. Information specific to Defiance County can be viewed by clicking the link below.

Defiance County Traffic Activity Statistics

The Defiance County Safe Communities Coalition would like to encourage all drivers – new and seasoned – to buckle up, avoid distractions, drive sober, and obey all traffic signs and signals.

Texting and driving is one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving. At any given moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. Distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic on America’s roadways.

In 2018, there were 2,841 people killed and an estimated 400,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. Distracted driving is an especially problematic trend among younger drivers. In fact, 8% of drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of the fatal crashes.

Learn More About Injury Prevention

Traffic Safety

Risky Driving

Road Safety

Traffic Statistics

Teen Driving

Mature Driving

Defiance County Active Transportation

Traffic Safety Resources

Safe Communities Resources & Press Releases

The Defiance County Safe Communities Coalition would like to encourage all drivers – new and seasoned – to buckle up, avoid distractions, drive sober, and obey all traffic signs and signals.

Drowning Prevention

Traffic Safety

Safe Sleep

Child Passenger Safety

Senior Falls