Highest-ticket areas just outside cities

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Ohio drivers tend to get heavier-footed as they enter rural stretches of highway after leaving congested sections.

A Dayton Daily News analysis of more than 1 million speeding citations finds that the No. 1 state ticketing spot has been on Interstate 71 in southwest Ohio, just northwest of Wilmington at milepost 48. Highway Patrol troopers there wrote 5,524 speeding tickets between 2007 and 2009.

Troopers say many drivers step on the gas there after escaping congestion in the Cincinnati area.

Other top spots include U.S. 23 just north of Lucasville, I-71 just east of Ashland, I-75 just north of West Chester, and I-70 in Madison County, midway between Springfield and Columbus.

Some motorists grumble about “speed traps.” Police dismiss that label, saying they catch drivers at unsafe speeds.