(From the Ohio State Highway Patrol)

The 12th annual “Lights for Lives” was a successful operation once again, showing what can be accomplished by law enforcement working cooperatively in a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional effort. In the spirit of collaboration, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Findlay District in conjunction with law enforcement agencies in Northwest Ohio from the following counties: Williams, Fulton, Lucas, Defiance, Henry, Wood, Putnam, Paulding, Hancock, Van Wert, Allen, and Hardin Counties participated.

“Lights for Lives” is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional, cooperative enforcement campaign focused on officers activating their overhead LIGHTS and stopping as many vehicles that have committed traffic violations to save as many LIVES as possible. It began on November 24th at 6:00 a.m. and ran through November 26th at 6:00 a.m., kicking off the holiday driving season.

During the 48-hour operation officers reported stopping nearly 692 vehicles and issued 230 citations. There were 18 Safety Belt citations issued, 13 Distracted Driving citations issued, while 7 impaired drivers were removed from Ohio’s roadways.

On behalf of all law enforcement who participated in “Lights for Lives”, we would like to remind motorists this holiday season to always buckle up, as it is the one thing most likely to save their life, and slow down or move over for stopped traffic! Additionally, they must remember to plan ahead and never operate a vehicle when impaired by drugs and/or alcohol!