Delaware County proclaims World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims after coalition cites rising local fatalities

The Delaware County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 11 unanimously approved a proclamation recognizing World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and heard local advocates describe what they called a worsening traffic-safety trend.

Jackie Bain, community health specialist with the Delaware Public Health District and coordinator of the Safe Communities Coalition, told the board the coalition reviews every fatal crash to look for trends and possible agency responses. "We now have had 15 people perish in 11 crashes in this county," Bain said, adding that last year the county recorded 20 fatalities in 19 crashes. She told commissioners enforcement and education are the interventions most likely to change driver behavior and reduce deaths.

"Traffic fatalities and serious injury due to traffic crashes is not just an American or state or county issue," Bain said, noting international recognition of the day by the World Health Organization and the United Nations. She said the coalition will observe World Remembrance Day locally on Friday, Nov. 14 at noon in front of the highway patrol post and will read the names of those who have died this year.

Sgt. Kyle Fox of the Ohio State Highway Patrol introduced himself as representing the Delaware post and described recent staffing changes; he expressed support for local enforcement efforts. Commissioners and staff commented that many recent fatalities involved impaired driving (OVI) and failures to wear seat belts—circumstances they described as largely preventable.

Commissioner Barb Lewis read the board's proclamation, which cited national and state figures as read at the meeting (the proclamation text as read put the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2024 U.S. figure at 39,345 fatalities and recited Ohio and county statistics). The proclamation declares Nov. 16, 2025, as World Remembrance in Delaware County while the coalition noted its local observance on Nov. 14; the board signed the proclamation and posed for photographs.

The board did not adopt new enforcement or funding measures at the meeting; Bain and others urged continued interagency collaboration on enforcement, engineering and education to address the county's crash trends.

Next steps: the county coalition's local commemoration is scheduled for Nov. 14 at noon at the highway patrol post; commissioners did not assign new county-funded enforcement programs during this meeting.