A year ago, 12 people died in Ohio traffic accidents during the Christmas holiday. The same number of people died in crashes during the same period in 2022.

The news was far better when the Ohio State Highway Patrol released the numbers from its most recent Christmas reporting period last week.

There were just two fatalities on Ohio roads during Christmas 2024. The reporting period began Dec. 23 at midnight and ended Dec. 25 at 11:59 p.m.

The decrease in fatalities is certainly welcome news, but other numbers suggest that decline perhaps benefited from divine providence or just luck.

Why? Even though the only fatal crashes occurred in Defiance and Jackson counties and neither apparently involved impaired driving, OHP troopers still arrested 44 people for operating a vehicle while impaired and 11 for illegal drugs. Troopers also issued 84 citations for safety-belt and 31 for distracted-driving violations.

Troopers also assisted 434 motorists on the state’s roadways.

The OHP encourages drivers to be vigilant whenever they’re on the road. The public can call #677 to report dangerous or impaired drivers, as well as drug activity.

With New Year’s Eve coming Tuesday, we also encourage motorists to exercise caution during another holiday period that can result in grim numbers of fatal accidents.

The OHP reported seven people died in six fatal accidents during the 2023-24 New Year’s reporting period. That actually represented a nearly 50 percent drop in traffic fatalities from the same year-ending holiday period in 2022-23.

In addition to the fatal accidents a year ago, troopers made 3,259 traffic-enforcement contacts. Among those were 272 OVI arrests and 106 distracted-driving and 409 safety-belt citations.

With so many ways to safely navigate New Year’s festivities, there really is no reason anyone should get behind the wheel impaired. If people must imbibe, we suggest a dependable designated driver or making use of various ride-share apps such as Uber, Lyft or an old-fashioned taxi.

The OHP will be out in force to help make Ohio’s roads safer for all travelers. Do not make a mistake you could live to regret. You might just ruin your life or take someone else’s, including family and friends or innocent strangers. And you might not make it home at all.