Ohio officials not rushing to spread 70 mph speed limit

COLUMBUS (AP) — While Ohio troopers prepare for the new 70 mph speed limit approved this week for the Ohio Turnpike, state officials are indicating they’re not quite ready to spread the higher speed to Ohio’s other interstate highways.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission agreed on Monday to boost the speed limit from the current 65 mph for all vehicles on the 241-mile toll road. The panel said it acted in the interest of safety, to encourage more vehicles, particularly trucks, to use the turnpike instead of parallel roads through communities.

Upping the speed limit on other Ohio highways would require action by state lawmakers, however. The chairman of the Ohio House’s transportation and infrastructure committee has his own safety concerns.

“The faster the people are going, the more danger there is,” state Rep. Robert Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, told The Columbus Dispatch.

A proposal to raise the speed limit statewide to 70 mph died in Hagan’s committee last year amid lawmakers’ concerns that higher speeds could mean higher numbers of deadly crashes.