OSHP starts 24/7 posts for larger cities

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is expanding its presence in the state’s three largest metropolitan areas with around-the-clock operations at posts near Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus for the first time in its nearly 80-year history.

The patrol will staff 24/7 operations in Hamilton, Cuyahoga and Franklin counties beginning June 3.

The changes are part of a larger effort to more efficiently organize patrol resources and some current positions to better crack down on dangerous driving. It’s putting more of the nearly 1,500 troopers on patrol and in the areas with the most crash fatalities and impaired motorists.

The three counties with new metro posts have accounted for more than 170 fatal crashes in each of the past two years, or more than 15 percent of the statewide total.