Sunday, September 12, 1999
Patrols zero in on I-275
Accidents higher in '99 on Ohio part
BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Speeders and tailgaters may want to change their habits before they head to work along I-275 Monday.
Police will be out in full force scouting Greater Cincinnati's 88-mile circle freeway to deter drivers from breaking those laws.
Nearly 30 police agencies are working together through Thanksgiving to increase their visibility on I-275 in an effort they're calling “Circle Cincinnati.” The goal: reduce crashes and increase driver awareness.
“When that guy is coming across 275 to get to work at 8 a.m. Monday and sees 10 police cars, he's going to slow down,” said Capt. D.E. Kolcum with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “If he's coming across on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. and sees 10 police cars again, he's going to slow down. I guarantee you on Wednesday, he's going to be looking for those cars and is going to slow down.”
At the current rate, Ohio is projected to have 2,019 crashes on I-275 this year, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol statistics. That's nearly 17 percent higher than the 1,787 crashes on the freeway in 1998.
More than half of the accidents in 1998 and nearly half of this year's accidents happened because a driver was following too closely or made an improper lane change, police said.
“It's a very congested roadway,” Capt. Kolcum said. “With construction and the amount of traffic, people need to slow down and drive more cautiously.”
Indiana statistics weren't available and Kentucky's most recent 1997 statistics show that crashes were down from what they were in 1996 and 1995. The portion of I-275 in Kentucky had 406 crashes in 1997; there were 507 in 1996 and 501 in 1995, according to the Kentucky Traffic Accident Fact Book.
But local police, deputies and state troopers will be making their presence known on those parts of the highway, too.
“We had 406 accidents. None of them were fatal, but that's 406 potentials to be hurt or killed,” said Lt. Kevin Payne, Kentucky State Police spokesman. “We take that very seriously.”
The Indiana stretch of I-275 is still a relatively rural stretch and doesn't have the tailgating problems that Ohio and Kentucky have on heavily traveled stretches of the beltway. Still, Dearborn County sheriff patrols will be out.
“We don't have near the congestion, which is definitely a plus,” said Cpl. Bill Ullrich with the Dearborn sheriff's department. “We get people who doze off.”
The “Circle Cincinnati” effort comes after some high-profile accidents:
• In August, four people from a Knoxville, Tenn., church group were killed and 11 others from the group injured in an I-275 crash near the Montgomery Road overpass.
• Seven hours earlier that same August day, only 11/2 miles down the beltway, 34 school band members from an Indianapolis high school were injured when their charter bus crashed.
• In May, two people were injured in a car-truck crash on Interstate 275 near Three Mile Road in Highland Heights, closing the eastbound lanes for about three hours while crews cleaned up diesel fuel from the jackknifed semi.
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