Ohio Speed Limit going to 70 MPH...And Ohio Turnpike Tolls to Rise!!!

[thefro]

Indiana only allows 70 mph on 2x2 interstates. Another strange thing about IN is that US-31 in northern Hamilton County (no access control, but four lanes divided) has a 60 mph speed limit, while fully access controlled I-465 in the same county has a 55 mph speed limit.

Yeah, but there's a difference between northern Hamilton County and southern Hamilton County. Not that I'm arguing that the speed limit along 465 should be 55, it should be 65 if not 70. It just seems that regardless of what kind of 2x2 highway it is, there's a definition between rural and urban and southern Hamilton County these days can be considered urban (assuming too that suburban is lumped in there with urban.) Plus, with US 31 being turned to a freeway through most of the county, the 55 speed limit will be extended up north to at least Westfield.

465 should have a 65+ mph speed limit because the speed of the actual traffic flow on the Interstate is nowhere close to 55 mph... you'll get ran over if you don't drive 70 mph.  Literally people drive faster on that than they do on I-65 outside of Indianapolis (where it's zoned 70 mph).

Anyway the change to 70 mph has been a good one in Indiana as the actual speeds everyone drives haven't went up 5 mph.  I'm not sold on 60 mph on 2-lane highways... that would have to be on a case by case basis I think.

[vdeane]

You recall right Monty. I remember as a child telling my dad that "resume safe speed" meant the driver could go any speed that he felt was safe. Dad assured me that the state troopers would have a different idea. It meant you could resume Indiana's rural speed limit, 65.

I don't recall if they commonly had "resume safe speed" signs in other states.

NY was "end XX limit", though they only appeared on two lane roads.

[jeffandnicole]

I can recall in Indiana, before the national mandate of 55 mph speed limits, on state highways there were signs simply stating "Resume Safe Speed" when leaving city / town limits. 

The NJ Turnpike used to post "Resume Normal Speed" after construction zones.  I guess that meant whatever motorists felt their normal speed was!

[6a]

Aren't the beltways already 65. I'd imagine that rural would mean any highway outside of the beltways. Or you could be like that state up north and have them be 70 into the cities too.

I just looked up the relevant law and, at least to my non-lawyer eyes, there isn't a definition of rural.  It basically says if the folks in charge think the road is up to it, the limit can go up to 65.  That would explain the sizable bits of road inside 270 then.  I guess that leaves my original question - if they change 65 to 70, I wonder how much of the current 65 will go up.

I always say I'll admit being wrong, and this is a sure fire example of why I'm not a lawyer.  There is a definition of rural, but some urban interstates can go to 65 anyway.  I don't think all of this will be 70, as there are some odd gaps, but here you go.

[tdindy88]

Several odd gaps it looks like on I-75 from Dayton to Toledo and I-70 east of Columbus. On the former, I could see 70 MPH everywhere except within the Lima and Findlay areas and I-70 outside of Zanesville and Wheeling.

[PurdueBill]

Is the Turnpike part of this?  Isn't it 70 already?  Would they actually

The back-and-forth between 65 and 70 if done as illustrated would be a circus.  If it's based solely on population of territories that the roads happen to pass through the limits of without consideration of the character of the road/traffic not changing, then they are just setting up speed traps galore at those points, especially if the locals can run them.

[vtk]

I'm not sure how exactly ODOT arrived at that selection of "rural" Intestates, but I hope the application of higher speed limits isn't so on-again-off-again.  That 5-mile chunk between Cincy and Dayton? Don't even bother.  And I'm not sure those little cities along mostly-rural corridors warrant a short stretch held to 65 just because they've developed light commercial districts near the existing once-rural interchanges.  More specifically, I really don't know why the part of I-70 between exits 85 and 91 isn't considered rural – unless there's some kind of commuter traffic threshold involved and West Jeffersonians happen to push it over the top.

City police departments can and do patrol the Interstates within their borders.

The turnpike is indeed already 70MPH for most if not all of its length, and I don't think this law will change speed limits anywhere on the Turnpike.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Indiana only allows 70 mph on 2x2 interstates. Another strange thing about IN is that US-31 in northern Hamilton County (no access control, but four lanes divided) has a 60 mph speed limit, while fully access controlled I-465 in the same county has a 55 mph speed limit.

That should be 2x2+.  I-94 (all 3x3 or more) is 70 mph from the Toll Road east to Michigan.

As is the recently completed stretch of the Toll Road from west of I-94 to Cline Avenue (yes, the 70 zone goes all the way to the Westpoint Toll Barrier, but the Toll Road is 3x3 from I-94 to Cline only).

The Ohio Turnpike was already 70, but this was a special case since truckers were unhappy with paying hiked tolls while driving only 65. The 70 mph speed limit was placed to keep truckers on the Turnpike while keeping the alternate routes from getting clogged up with "shunpikers" (a great example being the freeway portion of Ohio Route 2 from east of Toledo to Cleveland).

I'm all for Ohio joining the 70 club, but they have to be much more consistent than what I'm seeing on the map. There are too many in-and-out spots.

[vdeane]

Maybe the 70 mph limit is designed to create speed traps.  The only reason Michigan has consistent 70 mph zones is because they banned local governments from doing traffic enforcement on state roads.  One town even withdrew requests for a lower limit when the state police threatened to arrest any other cop they spotted on the road.

[thenetwork]

Ohio is too damn conservative on its interstate speed limit "zones".  It's like every little town with at least 3 traffic lights that is right up against the interstate in Ohio warrants a "reduced speed zone".  It's all about local politics -- when the freeways were first built, there was no dickering with the 70 MPH interstate speed limit through every town over 5,000.  Most of those little towns, especially along I-75, have only one or two exits, and I don't see that much local traffic adding much to the thru traffic in those areas.

The only other state in which I regularly traveled thru with ultra-conservative speed zones was I-90 in PA.  Last time I went through there they had an insanely L-o-n-g stretch of 55 MPH through the Erie area.  I almost want to say that the zone was so long, it made up darn near half of I-90's total mileage through that sliver of the Keystone State (and a good chunk of the other half always seemed to have some sort of construction on it, which also brought the speeds down immensely).

[PurdueBill]

Maybe the 70 mph limit is designed to create speed traps.  The only reason Michigan has consistent 70 mph zones is because they banned local governments from doing traffic enforcement on state roads.  One town even withdrew requests for a lower limit when the state police threatened to arrest any other cop they spotted on the road.

Setting up 70-65-70-65-70 as shown on the Dispatch map is just begging the towns where it drops to 65 to go out and set up speed traps.  Just last week the infamous Linndale mayor's court was dissolved by law, but the village says that it will continue to park its cruisers dangerously in the left shoulder to run its speed trap, just sending those ticketed to the Parma Municipal Court instead of its own mayor's court, and still getting a cut of the ticket $$.  It would be nice if Ohio were to accompany any increase to a max of 70 with a law that prohibits anyone but the state patrol from running speed enforcement on interstates. 

[vtk]

I'm still hopeful that the spots and gaps in that map are merely artifacts of unfiltered GIS results and it won't be followed literally.  It's already been said* that ODOT won't automatically raise the speed limit immediately everywhere it can, so there's already a layer of human oversight in implementation.

*I think I read this in a Sunday issue of the Dispatch that was still unsold on Wednesday.  On 2-lane roads, ODOT will cherrypick highways for 60MPH limits based on expense of replacing signs, or something.

[SSOWorld]

Ohio is too damn conservative on its interstate speed limit "zones".  It's like every little town with at least 3 traffic lights that is right up against the interstate in Ohio warrants a "reduced speed zone".  It's all about local politics -- when the freeways were first built, there was no dickering with the 70 MPH interstate speed limit through every town over 5,000.  Most of those little towns, especially along I-75, have only one or two exits, and I don't see that much local traffic adding much to the thru traffic in those areas.

The only other state in which I regularly traveled thru with ultra-conservative speed zones was I-90 in PA.  Last time I went through there they had an insanely L-o-n-g stretch of 55 MPH through the Erie area.  I almost want to say that the zone was so long, it made up darn near half of I-90's total mileage through that sliver of the Keystone State (and a good chunk of the other half always seemed to have some sort of construction on it, which also brought the speeds down immensely).

All of Pennsylvania has these - they are using the original rules of "rural" when the 65 exception first came out - the 55 zones start way outside the urban zones and are in existence for almost every city.

[InterstateNG]

Maybe the 70 mph limit is designed to create speed traps.  The only reason Michigan has consistent 70 mph zones is because they banned local governments from doing traffic enforcement on state roads.  One town even withdrew requests for a lower limit when the state police threatened to arrest any other cop they spotted on the road.

Setting up 70-65-70-65-70 as shown on the Dispatch map is just begging the towns where it drops to 65 to go out and set up speed traps.

This was my thought upon seeing the Dispatch map as well, and I've always thought that the opinion that Ohio's freeways were too patrolled was a bit overblown outside of the more infamous examples we're all aware of.

[6a]

Maybe the 70 mph limit is designed to create speed traps.  The only reason Michigan has consistent 70 mph zones is because they banned local governments from doing traffic enforcement on state roads.  One town even withdrew requests for a lower limit when the state police threatened to arrest any other cop they spotted on the road.

Setting up 70-65-70-65-70 as shown on the Dispatch map is just begging the towns where it drops to 65 to go out and set up speed traps.

This was my thought upon seeing the Dispatch map as well, and I've always thought that the opinion that Ohio's freeways were too patrolled was a bit overblown outside of the more infamous examples we're all aware of.

I don't know, man.  There's a 20-mile stretch of I-270 on the east side of Columbus where, on any given day, you can be clocked by five different agencies.  It's like they all stake out their own little cut in the median. 

[vtk]

Maybe the 70 mph limit is designed to create speed traps.  The only reason Michigan has consistent 70 mph zones is because they banned local governments from doing traffic enforcement on state roads.  One town even withdrew requests for a lower limit when the state police threatened to arrest any other cop they spotted on the road.

Setting up 70-65-70-65-70 as shown on the Dispatch map is just begging the towns where it drops to 65 to go out and set up speed traps.

This was my thought upon seeing the Dispatch map as well, and I've always thought that the opinion that Ohio's freeways were too patrolled was a bit overblown outside of the more infamous examples we're all aware of.

I don't know, man.  There's a 20-mile stretch of I-270 on the east side of Columbus where, on any given day, you can be clocked by five different agencies.  It's like they all stake out their own little cut in the median. 

What beltway doesn't run through a handful of suburbs in a short distance?

[6a]

Maybe the 70 mph limit is designed to create speed traps.  The only reason Michigan has consistent 70 mph zones is because they banned local governments from doing traffic enforcement on state roads.  One town even withdrew requests for a lower limit when the state police threatened to arrest any other cop they spotted on the road.

Setting up 70-65-70-65-70 as shown on the Dispatch map is just begging the towns where it drops to 65 to go out and set up speed traps.

This was my thought upon seeing the Dispatch map as well, and I've always thought that the opinion that Ohio's freeways were too patrolled was a bit overblown outside of the more infamous examples we're all aware of.

I don't know, man.  There's a 20-mile stretch of I-270 on the east side of Columbus where, on any given day, you can be clocked by five different agencies.  It's like they all stake out their own little cut in the median. 

What beltway doesn't run through a handful of suburbs in a short distance?

That wasn't the point of my post.

[Brandon]

Maybe the 70 mph limit is designed to create speed traps.  The only reason Michigan has consistent 70 mph zones is because they banned local governments from doing traffic enforcement on state roads.  One town even withdrew requests for a lower limit when the state police threatened to arrest any other cop they spotted on the road.

Setting up 70-65-70-65-70 as shown on the Dispatch map is just begging the towns where it drops to 65 to go out and set up speed traps.

This was my thought upon seeing the Dispatch map as well, and I've always thought that the opinion that Ohio's freeways were too patrolled was a bit overblown outside of the more infamous examples we're all aware of.

I don't know, man.  There's a 20-mile stretch of I-270 on the east side of Columbus where, on any given day, you can be clocked by five different agencies.  It's like they all stake out their own little cut in the median. 

What beltway doesn't run through a handful of suburbs in a short distance?

True, but you don't have several different agencies running radar along I-275 around Detroit or along I-294 around Chicago.  Each case is just the state police, not the little podunk suburbs.  That's where Ohio gets its reputation from.

[hbelkins]

It's been my experience that Ohio's state police are the problem, not local jurisdictions.

[exit322]

It's been my experience that Ohio's state police are the problem, not local jurisdictions.

As a native (and current) Ohioan, you're mostly on spot.  There are a few municipalities that are, shall we say, aggressive...but those aren't as common on the freeways as in other states I've been to.  Usually if you're on an Ohio interstate and find someone with lights, it's a State Trooper whose lights can be really hard to see now on their white cars.

[vtk]

WCMH-TV reports Kasich will sign the bill tomorrow. IIRC the law takes effect 90 days after signing, and the new speed limits take effect when ODOT actually replaces the signs.

[InterstateNG]

True, but you don't have several different agencies running radar along I-275 around Detroit or along I-294 around Chicago.  Each case is just the state police, not the little podunk suburbs.  That's where Ohio gets its reputation from.

I can't speak to the practices in Illinois or Ohio, but the state police patrols on 275 in Livonia are incredibly shady.  Unmarked Dodge Chargers in a variety of colors.

Between that and the crappy drivers on that road, I just tend to skip it and use alternates unless I have business in a community immediately adjacent to the road.

[hbelkins]

US 52 between Portsmouth and the state line is very heavily patrolled. I think the four-lane is underposted, and a lot of other drivers do too, which I guess explains the heavily OHP presence.

[PurdueBill]

Regarding Linndale...this oldie appeared today from WEWS.  Been down the road before with thinking that a law passed in Columbus would stop Linndale...

Nice appearance by button copy in the story.  Would that the station could have gotten button-copy letters for the words superimposed. 

[theline]

Regarding Linndale...this oldie appeared today from WEWS.  Been down the road before with thinking that a law passed in Columbus would stop Linndale...

Nice appearance by button copy in the story.  Would that the station could have gotten button-copy letters for the words superimposed. 

Linndale wasn't the only town in Ohio to work such a scam. My wife was caught by one along the Turnpike west of Toledo back in the late '80s. I can't remember the name of the town. The officer stopped her by standing in the middle of the lane with palm outstretched, and then led her along an access road to the mayor's court. She was lucky they accepted Mastercard as payment.