Williams County – Margaret Peg Buda, Williams County Safe Communities Coordinator announced that the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s (ODPS) Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO) awarded $25,000 in federal traffic safety funding to Williams County Health Department for FFY 2016.
Competitive grant proposals are accepted and reviewed by OTSO. The FFY 2016 competitive grant process solicited grant proposals from state agencies, non-profit organizations, colleges, universities, hospitals, political subdivisions and other interested groups within selected Ohio counties and jurisdictions (based upon the number of fatal crashes). The funds are then passed through OTSO from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to support the efforts of safety partners statewide.
Williams County Safe Communities will promote increased public awareness with a focus on traffic safety priorities such as seat belt usage, impaired driving, motorcycle safety, fatal data review and coalition building.
These grant funds will be further utilized through planned efforts working with our local high schools for increased seat belt usage and educational awareness about the dangers of impaired and distracted driving.
The Williams County Safe Communities mission is to help save lives and reduce injuries on our roadways through leadership and partnering efforts with other public safety agencies and community members. Williams County Safe Communities will continue to partner with local law enforcement, county agencies and community members through Safe Communities Coalition building and review of fatal traffic crashes. “Partnerships are critical to the success of any safety effort. We are committed to working with our safety partners to address traffic safety concerns in Williams County,” said Peg Buda, Williams County Safe Communities Coordinator. The Williams County Safe Communities Coalition meets quarterly with the next coalition meeting scheduled for November 4, 2015. Contact the Williams County Health Department for further information.
For more information about OTSO and statewide efforts to improve safety on Ohio’s roadways access http://ohiohighwaysafetyoffice.ohio.gov/index.stm
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