Ohio senate passes $7B+ transportation budget; would allow 75 mph limit

By Marc Kovac | March 19, 2015 at 12:03a.m.

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Senate passed a $7 billion-plus transportation budget that would allow all drivers on portions of rural highways and the Ohio Turnpike to drive 75 mph.

But that and other provisions remain in question, as the bill heads to a conference committee of the Senate and House to haggle over differences.

House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, told reporters Wednesday his members had questions about the higher speed-limit proposal.

The transportation budget outlines spending for the next two fiscal years for the Ohio Department of Transportation and related agencies.

Among other provisions, it would require bureaus of motor vehicles to accept debit or credit cards for in-person license renewals and other transactions by July 2016, abbreviated driver training for anyone 18 or older who fails a road test while seeking a first driver’s license and increased coursework for operators of driver-training schools.

The speed-limit change comes about two years after the state moved to 70 mph on certain highways from 65 mph.

A Senate amendment last week would have limited the higher 75 mph limit to vehicles weighing up to 8,000 pounds; the new language approved Wednesday would allow all vehicles on affected roadways to travel 75 mph.

“We heard from the Ohio Trucking Association and ODOT, and they said it was much safer if everybody’s going the same speed limit,” said Sen. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, who serves as chairwoman of the Senate’s Transportation, Commerce and Labor Committee.

Manning told reporters statistics she has read show a decrease in accidents since Ohio adopted the higher speed limit a couple of years ago.

But statistics from the Ohio State Highway Patrol show a 17 percent increase in injury accidents and a 12 percent increase in property damage crashes when comparing the 18 months before and after the change to 70 mph.

Before the change, there were 1,583 injury accidents and 6,815 property-damage accidents, according to statistics provided by Patrol Sgt. Vincent B. Shirley. After the change, there were 1,850 injury accidents and 7,657 property-damage accidents on affected roadways.

Another amendment would require drivers to move over when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights, rather than solely for public safety or maintenance vehicles.

And the Senate version of the transportation budget would institute fines ranging from $250 to $500 for people who park or otherwise stop their vehicles in areas with diagonal stripes next to handicapped parking spaces.