Months of summer travel coincide with the season of road construction in Ohio and Kentucky. Both are taking steps to discourage speeding, especially in work zones.
Ohio Department of Transportation press secretary Matt Bruning said that involves more law enforcement officers monitoring speed on highways.
“We would love to see those state troopers or other law enforcement partners bored and not writing any tickets, because that means everyone's doing what they're supposed to do and that's obeying the speed limit,” Bruning said. “Unfortunately that's not reality. We're still seeing way too many people driving way too fast through our work zones, so we have to take these measures and hopefully people get the message and slow down.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol issued nearly 800 work zone citations during the July Fourth week.
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In Kentucky, drivers might see more police officers on the highway this month too. Several agencies received funding to increase enforcement as part of a Commonwealth-wide initiative.
“ 'Not So Fast' is basically an aggressive driving campaign which shines light on the problem,” said Bill Bell, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s executive director. “About 33% of crashes are from aggressive driving, and part of that is speeding.”
Bell said speeding is particularly dangerous in work zones. Last year, 17 people died in work zone crashes, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Kentucky increased fines for speeding and aggressive driving in work zones earlier this year.
The peak summer travel and construction period lasts through Labor Day.