Hear opening remarks from our OTSO Director/emcee, watch our awards presentation, and hear a powerful plenary from our Day One Keynote Speaker.

Accurate crash data is essential for safety planning, funding allocation, and policy evaluation. This session presents findings from a statewide crash data accuracy review and examines how data users, from engineers to analysts, interpret and apply these data in decision-making. Participants will gain insight into how missing data and inaccuracies in the data impact decision‑making. Join the speakers for Part 2 Panel to walk through a detailed refresher on the OH‑1 crash report.

NOTE:  Attending Part 2 of this presentation is not required to attend this session.

Ohio continues to see more than 4,000 motorcycle involved crashes each year, with preventable factors like speeding, impairment, and failure to yield contributing to the majority of serious injuries and fatalities. This session breaks down the data behind crashes and how Motorcycle Ohio’s curriculum is built to address the mental and physical skills that can help prevent crashes and save lives.

Impaired driving deaths represent 32% of all traffic fatalities. Alcohol, illicit drugs, prescriptions and some over-the-counter medications impact the critical divided-attention tasks necessary for safe driving. This program discusses the psychological, physiological and psychomotor effects of substances on driving skills, differences between impaired drivers and other offenders and reviews validated screening and assessment tools for impaired drivers. The program concludes with a discussion of the role law enforcement and public safety partners play in assisting in reducing recidivism.

The presentation will cover details about two projects undertaken by Transportation Research Center, Inc., in partnership with Ohio DOT. These projects focused on worker safety inside the work zone. The first project addressed the use of Automated Truck Mounted Attenuator technology, its controlled environment testing and stakeholder outreach with various ODOT technicians. The second project is smart barrel projec0,t which is able to provide up-to-date mapping of a work zone to provide advanced notifications to motorists and detect intrusions into the work zone.

Tracy LeMaire from the National Safety Council (NSC) will speak about the vital, yet often overlooked, role employers can play in traffic safety and provide information about their employer toolkit. The NSC will, also, present awards to exemplary employers who are making a difference on our roadways.

This hands-on workshop provides a detailed refresher on the OH-1 crash report, emphasizing areas where inaccuracies commonly occur. Using real-world examples and a guided mock crash exercise, participants will practice completing key fields and interpreting crash circumstances. The session reinforces accurate, consistent documentation that supports statewide crash data quality and reliability.

NOTE:  Attending Part 1 of this presentation is not required to attend this panel discussion.

Gain insight into the Grossman trial that captured national and international attention, shaking a Los Angeles suburb to its core. The Grossman trial involved a high-profile socialite defendant who tragically ran over and killed two young boys. Explore the backgrounds of both the victims and the defendant, and the events leading up to the incident. Obtain a detailed account of the investigation, highlighting the tools and techniques that proved beneficial, as well as the mistakes that could have been avoided. Learn the details of the entire trial, including the shocking, headline-grabbing details that dominated the news cycle, while gaining insights into the tactics and strategies employed by the prosecutors, noting which were effective and which fell short. This engaging and informative presentation offers investigators and prosecutors valuable lessons and ideas for future cases.

Join us for a dynamic panel examining real-world driving behaviors following alcohol, cannabis, and combined substance use. Drawing on data from a naturalistic study covering over 100,000 miles of driving, we’ll explore how these substances impact driving decisions, roadway exposure, and vehicle control—along with the unique challenges of detecting cannabis impairment. These insights will help shape future safety strategies and impaired driving research. This session also highlights an innovative municipal court program in Ohio aimed at reducing OVI offender recidivism. By using early assessment tools to identify individuals with substance use disorders, the court provides targeted monitoring and resources to support recovery and reduce repeat offenses. Finally, we’ll share an overview of MADD’s six nationwide Underage Drinking and Substance Use Prevention programs. These initiatives engage students from 4th grade through high school, offer homecoming and prom‑specific programming, and equip parents with strategies for meaningful conversations about substance use.

The Silver Tsunami is here. Ohioans age 65 and older are the state’s fastest-growing demographic. Given this, law enforcement officers will likely encounter drivers with aging-related issues impacting safe driving, including cognitive impairment. During this session, officers will learn the signs of cognitive impairment, its impacts on safe driving, how to identify it using the DOSCI screening method, and how to refer a cognitively impaired driver to the Ohio BMW Special Case section.

Parents and caregivers often misuse child restraint systems (CRS), which puts children in danger during crashes. In this session, we will present the results from two online surveys of parents: one to define the rates and reasons behind premature restraint transitions and another exploring how CRS infographics and numeracy (the ability to understand and use numbers) affect parents’ abilities to interpret CRS instructions. Additionally, we will present a new resource for child seat education: a series of videos demonstrating consequences of CRS misuse using computer simulated crash footage.

Back By Popular Demand! This session will describe what is known about mental health, risky driving and crashes among teenager and adult drivers. The protective effects mindfulness and having a sense of purpose and meaning in life will also be described.

A statewide coalition composed has been working to advance a series of reforms to Ohio Revised Code that would give localities greater flexibility to set speed limits based on local concerns. Current Ohio law is based on "functional classification," a method which many other states are abandoning in favor of a "context-based classification system" which better incorporates considerations like land use and residential density. Presenters will explain how state policy has been shifting nationwide and why their group is advocating for similar reforms in Ohio.

Traditionally alcohol use is male-dominated activity, resulting in research and awareness of impaired driving among females getting lost in the pool of male offending. DUI arrests for women grew 93% in recent years and women now make up 25% of the alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes. This program focuses on gender-specific concerns, including patterns of use, trauma, family responsibilities, risks and needs, and effective strategies to address DUI recidivism among women.

Public buy‑in is a crucial component of effective traffic safety programs. Effective community engagement increases the likelihood for public buy‑in. Hear from two community leaders who have implemented award-winning programs focused on engaging their communities and implementing their feedback.

Bike Cleveland’s annual crash report compiles data from multiple sources to capture every possible crash involving people biking and walking. The report breaks findings down by ward, uncovers data gaps, and offers neighborhood-specific recommendations. Learn how this report became a trusted advocacy tool—and how your organization can create one too.

Ohio is entering its fourth year of primary enforcement for distracted driving. Join colleagues from across the state for a collaborative discussion on how to reinvigorate enforcement and education efforts. Explore the challenges law enforcement agencies face—and the innovative solutions and successes that are making a difference. This interactive, reverse Q&A session gives the audience a chance to help shape statewide support by sharing feedback on education and training opportunities.

Habitual super-speeders—those who regularly go more than 25 mph over the limit—are more prevalent than ever on American roadways, and more than 12,000 deaths occur each year in speeding-related traffic crashes. More than 1 in 5 of Ohio’s traffic deaths are in speeding-related crashes. Learn how to harness enforcement, technology, and community collaboration to curtail speeding and protect other road users.

As Ohio’s driver training laws and landscape change, communities must come together to ensure students are able to complete driver training, obtain a driver’s license, and access education and workforce opportunities. This session will outline some of the most recent developments in Ohio’s driver training structure, and how stakeholders in Cuyahoga County are addressing challenges for local students in their community. Attendees will leave with best practices and actionable takeaways that they can apply in their own communities.

Panel will share a multi-agency action plan for managing incidents in the I-70 contraflow construction zone in Franklin County. Panelists from OSHP, ODOT TMC, construction engineering, dispatch, and towing discuss strategies including strategic positioning, TRIP incentive programs, First Response vehicles, wrecker coordination, and technology monitoring. Attendees will learn replicable protocols for pre-incident mitigation, rapid response, on-scene coordination, and continuous improvement applicable to high-risk work zones statewide.

Connect with your fellow traffic safety professionals in three dynamic, topic‑focused 30-minute discussions designed to spark ideas and share best practices. Explore key issues in driver behavior, safety education, and law enforcement through small group conversations. Whether you’re looking for fresh insights or practical solutions, this interactive session offers something for everyone!

Gain insight into the Grossman trial that captured national and international attention, shaking a Los Angeles suburb to its core. The Grossman trial involved a high-profile socialite defendant who tragically ran over and killed two young boys. Explore the backgrounds of both the victims and the defendant, and the events leading up to the incident. Obtain a detailed account of the investigation, highlighting the tools and techniques that proved beneficial, as well as the mistakes that could have been avoided. Learn the details of the entire trial, including the shocking, headline-grabbing details that dominated the news cycle, while gaining insights into the tactics and strategies employed by the prosecutors, noting which were effective and which fell short. This engaging and informative presentation offers investigators and prosecutors valuable lessons and ideas for future cases.

Grab lunch, attend a plenary from our Day Two Keynote Speaker, and hear closing remarks from our OTSO Director/emcee.