MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio - The Mahoning County OVI Task Force has announced on Tuesday that $250,000 in grant funding will be used for equipment and labor costs involved with conducting OVI checkpoints and saturation patrols in the Mahoning Valley.

Data shows that conducting OVI checkpoints and saturation patrols pushes people into better behavior and pushes people to stop and think before getting behind the wheel while impaired.

Between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022, there were a total of 608 OVI-related crashes with 452 of them being alcohol-related and 156 being drug-related.

Of these crashes, 249 of them resulted in some form of injury and 55 of them resulted in at least one fatality. 

When comparing 2022's numbers to 2010's, there has been a near 40% decrease in alcohol-related crashes, a 47% decrease in drug-related crashes and a 25% decrease in fatal OVI crashes.

However, the task force says there is still work to be done with just one OVI-related crash a year being one too many.

For the year of 2024, there will be a minimum of 16 OVI checkpoints conducted in the Valley as well as coordinated saturation patrol blitzes and corridor enforcement blitzes.