COLUMBUS, Ohio — 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. He noted that wet weather and construction work, which also affect crash data, vary from year to year.
About 1,270 crashes were recorded on the turnpike from April through September, including two that were fatal, according to the patrol. That's up from 1,159 during those six months in 2010. The number of speeding citations issued in that time also rose by about 170, patrol data showed.
Through early October, 1,912 turnpike crashes were reported. In the past few years, that annual total has ranged from about 2,100 to nearly 2,600.
Officials say they need more data to determine whether the recent increases in truck traffic and crashes are linked to the new speed limit. When the limit for commercial vehicles rose from 55 mph to 65 mph in 2004, the patrol found injury and fatal crashes also increased in the following year and a half.
Turnpike passenger traffic dropped slightly, possibly affected by a down economy and high gas prices, so turnpike officials see it as a good sign that truck traffic is up, interim executive director Dan Castrigano said. The turnpike recorded more than 21.4 million passenger vehicles from April to September, about 237,000 fewer than in the comparable period last year. It logged about 5.3 million commercial vehicles, an increase of about 95,000.
Chicago truck driver Max Petrovic, who travels on the turnpike about 20 days a month, said he's noticed a bit more traffic since the speed limit increased, but his truck can't go much more than 60 mph so the higher limit doesn't help him get to his destination faster.
"As long as people pay attention, I think it's a good thing," he said recently at a truck stop in Walbridge, just south of Toledo.
Truck driver Terry McCool of Hermann, Mo., who drives the turnpike monthly, said he always looked at tolls as "wasted money" and would take secondary roads instead when he owned his truck and had to pay tolls out of his own pocket. He said the speed increase hasn't changed how much traffic he sees on the roadway.
"They're going to have to do a lot more than that to get more trucks on the toll roads," he said.
The Ohio Trucking Association has said its members would rather see lower tolls. Its president, Larry Davis, said owners are telling him the speed change doesn't make a big difference because many trucks don't reach 70 mph.
Last year, a total of nearly 38.9 million passenger vehicles and more than 9.9 million commercial vehicles used the turnpike, which charges $15 to $75 to travel across Ohio, depending on the size and type of vehicle. Year-to-date, turnpike passenger traffic is down about 94,000 but commercial traffic is up by about 204,000.
Ohio is exploring the possibility of leasing the toll road, and first-term Republican Gov. John Kasich has said he believes it could bring the financially ailing state up to $2.5 billion.
