XENIA — Greene County Public Health officials announced that the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s (ODPS) Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO) awarded $35,000 in federal traffic safety funding for federal fiscal year 2020.

“Partnerships are critical to the success of any safety effort and we are committed to working with safety partners to address traffic safety concerns in Greene County,” said Jillian Drew, Safe Communities coordinator.

Greene County Public Health has identified that education about traffic safety issues like seat belt usage, distracted and impaired driving is impacting the safety and welfare of the citizens of Greene County. To save lives and improve the quality of life for our citizens, Greene County Public Health will use the grant funds to provide education and community outreach by the Greene County Safe Communities Coalition.

The funds are passed through OTSO from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to support the efforts of safety partners statewide and focus on traffic safety priority areas such as restraint use, impaired driving, motorcycle safety and youthful drivers.

Competitive grant proposals are accepted and reviewed by OTSO. The FFY 2020 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).

For more information about OTSO and statewide efforts to improve safety on Ohio’s roadways, log http://ohiohighwaysafetyoffice.ohio.gov/index.stm For more information on the Greene County Safe Communities Coalition, please contact Jillian Drew at [email protected] or by calling 937-374-5683.