Higher pike speed brings more accidents

October 13, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Associated PRess

COLUMBUS

The number of crashes and the amount of commercial traffic reported along the Ohio Turnpike rose slightly during the first six months of its higher 70 mph speed limit compared with the same period last year, according to data from turnpike officials and the State Highway Patrol.

The limit increased in April from 65 mph for the 241-mile toll road that connects the Midwest and the East Coast, allowing drivers to legally zip along at 70 mph for the first time in more than three decades and adding Ohio to more than two dozen states that have that speed limit. Some turnpike officials and other supporters of the change hoped it would lure trucks back to the toll road from parallel routes that run through smaller communities and may be less suited for large vehicle traffic. The Ohio Trucking Association opposed the change, arguing it might lead to more crashes as vehicles zigzag past slower-traveling trucks that top out at speeds several notches below 70 mph.

“If there’s a road that’s going to be at 70 mph, the Ohio Turnpike is definitely engineered and maintained for it,” highway patrol Capt. Chris Zurcher said. The turnpike’s interim executive director says it’s as a good sign that truck traffic is up even though passenger traffic dropped slightly.