Since July 1, 2013, when the speed limit on portions of six highways in Ohio was increased from 65 mph to 70 mph as part of the state’s budget transportation bill that year, there has been a 24-percent increase in crashes on those stretches and a 22-percent increase in crashes involving fatalities or injuries, according to a new study. In raw numbers, that has meant 1,928 more crashes, 421 more injuries and five more deaths than in the four years prior to 2013.
In response to that data from the state highway patrol and Department of Transportation, troopers will begin enhanced patrols of those areas. Tapping into overtime, officers will target a list of dangerous activities including following too closely, improper passing, distracted driving and speeding. Specific areas the Ohio state highway patrol will focus on include I-70 and U.S. 33 near Columbus, and I-71 near Ashland.
A $100,000 ad campaign will also debut urging Ohioans to slow the fuck down. Messages such as “Stop speeding before it stops you” and “Obey the sign or pay the fine” will be seen along highways.
The highway patrol says the frightening trend might lead to a request by the organization to Governor John Kasich to temporarily dial back to 65 mph.
Limited to stretches of highways of urban areas, the increase had been welcomed by many of those traversing Ohio’s rural asphalt. And while those same four years have also seen a rise in distracted driving (see: cell phones), the data compiled by the state showed a 1-percent decrease in crashes and a 3-percent decrease in fatal crashes on all other Ohio roads during that time.
This article appears in Nov 22-28, 2017.
Are you allowed to use that kind of language? “A $100,000 ad campaign will also debut urging Ohioans to slow the fuck down.” Having been a former journalist, I highly doubt it.
I think a better way to make the freeways safer is to educate the public on how to keep right except to pass, followed by strong enforcement. Speed isn’t the problem on rural freeways, the problem is people who want to drive 65 in the left lane next to someone going 66 in the center lane, next to someone else driving 65 in the right lane. They put up signs, but Ohio still lacks an actual law that requires drivers to keep right when not passing, exiting, or turning. When people who actually want to drive the speed limit want to pass, they have to weave because of lazy drivers who think they can drive any speed they want in whichever lane is most comfortable for them. But that is NOT how freeways work!
70 mph was a stupid idea from a stupid legislature. Waste fuel, more pollution, more crashes, higher insurance rates, etc.