Ohio Highway Patrol cracking down on speeding, distracted driving

Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Bill Duerson sat parked in his cruiser along I-270 outside Columbus, pointing his hand-held speed radar out the window at an endless stream of passing cars.

Duerson kept the window down so his radar could accurately track speeders. Hot wind blasted into the cruiser, carried in from the cars that whizzed past on the highway. Though the speed limit on most of I-270 is 65 miles per hour, nearly every car Duerson tracked was going 10 miles per hour or more over the limit.

"Yes, speed is dangerous," he said. "But what's really dangerous is when you get one car going significantly faster or significantly slower than everybody else in a pack."

It didn't take more than 2 minutes for the radar to clock an excessive speeder — Duerson spotted the car at 84 miles per hour, closely following the vehicle in front of it. In the blink of an eye, he turned on his lights and sped into action.

Many Ohioans have had it happen to them: one minute you're cruising down the interstate, and the next, your rear-view mirror is filled with the red-and-blue lights of a cop car.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol spends hours each day tracking down speeders, often pulling onto a busy roadway when drivers least expect it. Nobody likes being pulled over, but troopers say they focus on preventing crashes and keeping reckless drivers in check. Tactics include issuing tickets, warnings and fines.

Yet since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Highway Patrol's day-to-day has looked a lot different than it used to.

"Everybody stopped driving for about three months, four months, and then all of a sudden everybody came back and because there was less traveling, everybody started flying," Duerson said. "It used to be maybe once a week, you'd get somebody over 100 (miles per hour). Now, you're getting them almost daily."

Zero-tolerance for speeding

Duerson's Wednesday patrol was part of the second annual Speed Awareness Day, a 10-state effort to crack down on speeding and distracted driving — or as Duerson put it, to "be out, be visible, be wherever you can."

While troopers typically focus on patrolling during morning and afternoon rush hours, Speed Awareness Day meant patrols were out all day long, enforcing a zero-tolerance speeding policy. OSHP issued 1,385 speed citations during the crackdown.

According to OSHP data, there were 30,119 speed-related crashes in Ohio in 2020 — a number that matched pre-pandemic levels, despite having significantly less drivers on the road. However, crash rates have remained the same since then and appear to be improving for 2023, with 14,698 crashes so far this year.

The summer months also lead to more speeding. According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, over 40% of fatal speed-related crashes in 2022 happened between June and September. Duerson said he especially sees excessive speeding on popular travel days throughout the year, such as July 4, Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

New Ohio law cracks down on texting while driving

Thanks to a new state law passed in April, using a phone or other electronic device while driving is a primary offense. That means police can pull over adult drivers just for that offense and will no longer have to first witness drivers committing other violations. Troopers now issue warnings for distracted driving, and when the law goes into full effect in October, they'll be able to issue citations.

Beginning Oct. 4, a first offense will be punishable by a fine of up to $150 and two points on your license unless you complete a driving safety course. The fines escalate with repeated offenses: a second offense in two years will add three points on your license and fine you $250, while a third offense in two years comes with a $500 fine, four points on your license and a possible 90-day license suspension.

There are some exceptions — drivers may use their phones while at stop lights and may hold them up to their ears.

Still, it's hard to discipline distracted drivers, leaving officers frustrated. While tracking speeders with the hand-held radar gun is easy, it's difficult for troopers to spot someone on their phone unless they see it with their own eyes.

And until the new law takes full effect in October, distracted drivers won't add points on their drivers licenses for violations. Duerson said he often worries that current measures won't persuade distracted drivers to put their phones away the next time they're on the road.

"The problem is, if you're going down the road like this," he said, moving his thumbs to mimic someone texting while driving, "right now I couldn't do anything, really, to change that behavior."

But statistics show behavior may be changing. OSHP has reported 4,801 distracted driving crashes so far in 2023, showing improvement from previous years. There were 10,281 distracted crashes in 2022, and 11,910 in 2021. Pre-pandemic levels were even higher — 2019 and 2018 both had over 13,000 distracted-driving related crashes.

And as crashes have gone down, the number of distracted driving citations issued by OSHP have gone up significantly. Troopers have issued nearly 2,689 citations this year, compared with 968 in 2018.

Post-pandemic struggles: A "recruitment crisis"

The pandemic, along with shifts in the political climate, have led to what Duerson called a "recruitment crisis," leaving troopers stretched thin.

Public safety as a field has struggled to recruit since 2020, and Duerson said the state police are short nearly 400 troopers statewide. With excessive speeding and distracted driving on the rise, the shortage in some parts of the state is especially worrying.

"Everybody works shorthanded," Duerson said. "A post that used to have five guys per shift, now might have two or three times less people. You're doing more with less."

Recruitment has gone up over the past several months, according to OSHP Lt. Nate Dennis. The patrol currently employs 1,340 troopers. Duerson, who's primarily a member of the motorcycle unit, said he's spent more time recently going to police academies to recruit for the Highway Patrol.

Duerson said of the motorcycle unit is a great group to work with. "We get to travel all over the state. It's hard work, but it's good work."

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Highway Patrol targets speeding, distracted drivers