Agencies team up for traffic safety push

The Cincinnati Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol say a joint effort to reduce traffic accidents and save lives has been a huge success.

Nearly 4,000 traffic citations have been written over the past two months.

The patrols specifically targeted highways and state routes in the Cincinnati area, where speeding is common.

Cincinnati Police said the Ohio State Highway Patrol ended up being their secret weapon.  OSP troopers were brought in to help catch those who were driving too fast.

A lot of drivers usually look out for a Cincinnati Police car when they’re speeding, but officials said they’re not necessarily trying to spot an OSP vehicle.

“Some of my officers will talk about that every once in a while,” said Lt. Wayne Price of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “They’ll do a double take on the car or on the uniform, not really expecting to see a trooper walk up the car.”

Cincinnati Police Captain Dan Gerard was in agreement.  “We’re in the City of Cincinnati all the time,” he said.  “Sometimes we get taken for granted. You expect to see a Cincinnati Police car in the city. But when you see a State Trooper car, you kind of sit up a little straighter in your car, check to see if your belts are on.”

Captain Gerard said the two agencies have been working together to patrol highways and state routes in the Cincinnati metro area for the past two months.

Both agencies said their efforts have paid off by reducing traffic crashes by 67 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Officers and troopers issued 3,774 traffic citations and 1,581 warnings. They also arrested 199 people for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Another 25 people were arrested for drug violations.

“We made several weapon and drug arrests during the course of this. When you stop that many cars, you’re going to run across some people that are doing some things that they’re not supposed to,” Gerard explained.

The joint effort was not about ticketing drivers in order to get them to pay a fine.

Lt. Price said it’s ultimately about saving lives.

“We, or any other department, [do not] want to go knocking on the door at midnight to tell a loved one you’re gone because you made a bad decision,” Lt. Price said.

The two agencies will combine forces again in October.

The OSP is also launching a permanent plan to conduct what they’re calling a low-manpower OVI checkpoint in an effort to continue the push to keep our roads safe.