Wednesday, October 20, 1999
Drivers ease off pedal on I-275
Police see slowdown after speeding crackdown
BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A month into increased police presence around the Interstate 275 beltway, commuters appear to have laid off the gas pedal a little.
Police around Greater Cincinnati's 88-mile circle freeway spent more than 400 hours concentrating on traffic violations, including speeding and erratic lane changes, that lead to crashes.
It is too soon to tell whether the result is fewer crashes. But so far, the nearly 30 police agencies in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana have had 700 contacts with drivers, resulting in:
• 600 traffic tickets for speeding, improper lane use, failure to wear seat belts and other violations.
• Four arrests of drivers behind the wheel with a suspended license.
• Two reported cases of “road rage.”
“People are slowing down,” said Lt. Paul Hermes of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Batavia post. “The average speeds are lower than they used to be.”
Blue Ash police say drivers on average had been going 65 mph to 70 mph on the city's northeastern stretch of the beltway that has a 60-mph speed limit. Drivers have slowed down to about 60 mph to 65 mph, said Blue Ash police Lt. John Pohlman.
Message hit home
In Boone County, police recently pulled over one driver for going too slowly. The reason he gave: He got a ticket for speeding in Kenton County.
“The message is getting across, and they are starting to slow down,” said Boone County police Capt. Michael Hall.
The “Circle Cincinnati” effort to increase driver awareness around I-275 started after several serious accidents this summer.
On one August day alone, 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, about 11/2 miles down the beltway, 34 school band members from an Indianapolis high school were injured when their charter bus crashed.
The I-275 traffic crackdown will continue through Nov. 24.
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