Welcome to Ohio! Here's Your Speeding Ticket.

My sister told me about this. I thought she was exaggerating.

I saw this coming home (on 75N @ 5pm) yesterday too. Its was crazy. I thought there was some huge accident at first. Its borderline hazardous to other drivers just because of the distraction it causes.

No exaggeration.

Same thing on the north side of the border yesterday - I counted at least five Michigan State troopers between the border and exit 34-ish, plus some local cops, and those are just the ones I saw.

Still, that Ottawa River Road lineup of a dozen or so cars is especially insane, and how effective at deterring speeding is it, really? Any motorist with half a brain can figure out that the city concentrated every available cruiser in an early show of force just past the border.

Also, what an undisguised cash grab in a year of budget deficits.

I bet the people obeying the posted speed limits didn't recieve any tickets.
That part of the expressway, both north and southbound are ridiculously full of a-hole drivers. I use that exit daily and it never ceases to amaze me how fast (especially MI) drivers are going.
Too damn bad if they get a ticket.

I've used it daily also for 25 years now and rarely have an issue getting on or off unless there's an accident or other traffic tie up.

The biggest issue getting off in the evening is the truck traffic heading north. And, let's be honest here Ryan, Toledo is chock full of a-hole drivers as well who drive like a bat out of hell. I've never before seen a city where running red lights is an art form.

SJD: you are absolutely correct about the dangerous distraction it creates in this very heavily travelled stretch of interstate.

11 - that beats my count of 9 at about 7 p.m.

As for the pay - usually these targeted enforcement efforts are paid for by federal grants.

I know - it's still our tax dollars....

It's all about the benjamins. Money, money and more money. Had a friend get caught in that a couple years ago, the fine was hhefty, but she was going 90.

LOL! Seriously - nobody should ever be going 90!

I hate that stretch of highway for just this reason.
Seems like Ohio should just do away with the "65" speed at the border and just make it a warning area for half a mile before dropping down to "60". Just put up a "Reduced speed ahead: 60" sign.

And just to put it out there...it's Memorial Day weekend. Police will be looking for anything out of order. Speeding, seat belt, busted light, whatever...they will be out in force.

Best to cool it and pay attention to all traffic laws, especially speed limits, to the letter (or number) this weekend!

Granted the interstate system around Toledo is horribly mis-planned, I still can't believe Ohio remains at 65 for the max speed considering how much rural area is in the state.

As far as the speed trap...not uncommon I guess, but there has to be better things to do than to make people wish they never went into Toledo.

Regarding A-Hole Drivers:

I drove my Wife to seminar in Vermont a couple of years ago then we drove on to Maine for a little vacation and to visit friends. We used to live in Maine many years ago for a couple of years.

After a few days of driving in the New England area this time, I came to the realization that I was the biggest A-Hole Driver there.

I couldn't believe how courtious they were. That really p***ed me off. hahahahahahah.....

Money

I have seen speed limit signs say 80mph so I would have to say 90 is not out of the question but on a posted highway of 70 then to 60 is a bit high haha.

It doesn't suprise me because this is a holiday weekend. Some folks are traveling great distances and tend to get a little overanxious on the gas pedal. The objective of the TPD is to minimize accidents and thus prevent injury, even death.

If that were truly the goal, it could be accomplished with a presence of police cars. You need to see this event in action sometime. It's simply a ringing cash register for the city coffers.

Besides, this is put on several times a year - usually not close to a holiday.

As for the pay - usually these targeted enforcement efforts are paid for by federal grants.

Maggie's right. Plus, I heard that the factories at Philly and Denver were into mandatory overtime for all the grants and stuff.

I have posted before about the waste of TPD's resources by over policing that section of I-75. That being said, you must understand departments across the country get federal grant money for tarketed highway enforcement, very commonly on holiday weekends. So, the overkill may be federally funded to focus on holiday weekend traffic. Public serivce adds about seatbelt, speeding and DUI enforcement over the holiday weekend have been running for weeks. SO if your one of those who chose not to lighten the foot coming south, no excuse for you.

TAHL

Have you all been drinking the Kool-Aid for so long that you just accept this as "OK" and "Status Quo" ???

For crying out loud TAHL, what you are really saying is "Attention mind numbed government robots, take your Stepford like pill and follow our instructions because you are too stupid to do otherwise".

If someone is flying through the "federal grant money targeted highway speed enforcement zone" at 80 or 90 MPH - NAIL THEIR ASS WITH A HUGE FINE. Period. Paragraph.

If someone is coming out of MI where the speed limit is 70, immediately drops to 65 at border, then, with much obscurity - especially if there is a tractor-trailer rig in the right lane blocking your view of the "60 MPH" sign - of which there is only one - and you get nailed - that, friend, is a speed trap. And I would spend any sensible sum to fight it.

TAHL: Do you truly believe that because it's "federal grant money for tarketed highway enforcement" that it's like money that fell from the sky? It matters not the source of the public funds that paid for it - IT'S ALL YOUR MONEY! I really believe that most people think that "federal" money is like a gift from God as opposed to $$ from their pockets.

Sheesh! No wonder we are in such deep do-do.

I drove to Zanesville and back to Toledo on Saturday. 7 hour roundtrip. I counted about 20 highway patrol officers on the way there. So that was 1 OHP car per 10 miles driven. This pretty excessive.

It seems to me that the all these guys are good for is writing speeding tickets and occasionally a marijuana bust. There are just too many of them. Ohio has budget problems? Cut out the highway patrol. That would save millions of dollars. A portion of that savings could then be diverted to the counties and municipalities whose police forces are suffering. In my opinion, local law enforcement could put these dollars to better use.

I wonder if the economy has anything to do with the aggressiveness of law enforcement to issue speeding tickets? There are fewer officers out on the streets due to layoffs, so there may be fewer tickets issued.

Foodie you clearly don't read my posts often. I know where federal money comes from -- it comes from you and I, the govt. does not make any money nor produce any products or services to create revenue.

I didn't support nor attack the program of targeted traffic enforcement on holidays, or any other day. I am happy to do so however, I simply commented on the reason it may have been ocurring, not its propriety. Thanks for pointing out what I was "really saying."

As for the "obscurity" of the speed change, or the chance that the sign might be blocked by a tractor-trailer while you pass it constinuting a "speed trap;" that is an argument you will lose every time. But, I support your right to take all tickets to court.

TAHL

Ok, first, as a driver with slightly more than a monkey's brain, I know that changing states may have an effect on the speed limit. To drive blindly without looking for the next sign is somewhat careless. Besides, I do not believe if you were going 65 and the speed limit reduced to 60, you'd get a ticket. 5mph or less rarely gets you a ticket.
Speed traps that you talk about are funny. You want to blame everyone but yourself for breaking the law. Here's a great piece of advice. Go 55 and you'll never have to worry about a highway ticket. Or, fight that ticket you describe as a "speed trap". You are fighting the reason for you not knowing the speed limit as because a tractor trailer blocked your vision of the speed limit sign. Oh that's a good one. Maybe you could try that you are an illegal immigrant and you don't read english. lol
Tying up the courts for stupidity is another reason the country is broke.

I'm with hockeyfan. After you get your first speeding ticket, you should probably learn how not to get another one. Watching your speed is not that hard. Acting responsibly and learning to be patient, for most people, seems to be the main issue.

The people crossing the MI line into OH have probably traveled this stretch many times, and are only sore about getting a ticket because they are used to blowing through there like they always do, regardless of the posted limits.

A cop at my daughter's drivers ed.class told the students their saying, "9 is fine at 10 your mine". It is almost impossible to get a ticket for less than 11 mph over the speed limit. I put the cruise on 7 mph over and have driven past cops hundreds of times without a problem. The turnpike is a different story. I was following a guy for 10 minutes at 6 mph over, when I let off to let a car merge in from the entrance. I passed a cop who pulled out and got the guy I was following. I stay 4 mph over on the turnpike. I drive I75 everyday and the Michigan drivers blow thru there north and south bound all the time.

When I lived in Detroit, we had a saying about Ohio:

"Go there on vacation, come back on probation."

When traveling down south, we'd purposely avoid the state altogether if possible because of the excessive enforcement. I'll be glad when US24 is a freeway all the way to Fort Wayne so I can avoid even more of the state.

When I lived in Detroit, we had a saying about Ohio:

"Go there on vacation, come back on probation."

When traveling down south, we'd purposely avoid the state altogether if possible because of the excessive enforcement. I'll be glad when US24 is a freeway all the way to Fort Wayne so I can avoid even more of the state.

so I can avoid even more of the state

We'll be glad not to have you.

Don't speed and you won't have a problem. I have never had a speeding ticket in 60 years of driving.

I was on the Ohio Turnpike on Sunday and I counted about four patrol cars between Angola Indiana and Maumee.Two of them had people pulled over.One of them made a U-turn and came up behind me and I thought I was going to get pulled over.I was traveling about 68mph.Then when he passed me he went after another car that must have been going faster.

Maybe the city should look into speed cameras on that stretch of 75 coming from Michigan.They wouldn't have to waste all that manpower and it would save them on the cost of an airplane.If they are so worried about saftey instead of revenue they could have signs just inside the Ohio line warning drivers of the speed cameras.We know that it is not about safety because if it were there would be warning signs reminding drivers that traffic speeds would be enforced by radar,photo radar or plane.It appears to be all about revenue.

"Don't speed and you won't have a problem. I have never had a speeding ticket in 60 years of driving."

You got me beat on that one.It has been 43 years for me.I don't want to brag because I will probably will jinx myself.I should say more like I haven't been caught in 43 years.LOL!I can't say that I have never went over the speed limit because I have.I just try to go with the flow of traffic.

I'm truly happy that so many have found this thread to be so cathartic.

The point has been overlooked. Would anyone disagree that we have bigger fish to fry than passing out speeding tickets to raise revenue for the city so they can pi$$ it away on the things they normally pi$$ it away on??

To pull a dozen or more squad cars off the force for this nonsense when we are so short staffed as it is and have far more serious crimes taking place is simply incomprehensible to me.

If these so called targeted enforcement operations are funded by $$ from other than our local tax dollars, it's still YOUR money. Well, it's YOUR money for those of us who actually pay taxes - which is a smaller and smaller segment of the population. And, if we can spend such $$ from whatever the source, IMHO, it could be better spent on different law enforcement than nailing speeders coming out of Michigan.

Here's another tidbit for you to think about: I've been driving the 75S to 475W stretch in this city for over 25 years to and from work every day. NOT ONCE have I seen a speeding tractor trailer rig pulled over by a Toledo cop. And, if you are paying attention, they blow through Toledo at top speed. And wipe out on the rain/ice slick pavement at the Detroit Ave. curve and cause miles long backups and delays on a regular basis.

Once you get past Toledo city limits into the areas patrolled by the OSHP, they do get pulled over for speeding.

Never have I seen it in Toledo. Anyone want to hazard a guess why?

Because the city makes enough money off lot lizards at the truck stops?

LOL hockeyfan. Could be! May as well tax the activity. As we learned in Economics 101, whenever you tax an activity, you get less of the activity. ;-)

Not so. As we learned in Economics 101a, whenever you tax trade, you cause a portion of that trade to move to the black market.

We were a very progressive class.

trap is back. just saw this on facebook:

"Speed trap on I-75s at Ottawa river rd. 5 pulled over and 3 more cops standing by."

They were there a few weeks ago as well. I think I counted 10. Don't speed, man.

They're also positioning themselves in the 475 construction zone lately - which, is a good thing. No need to go faster than 50 through that area.

As for the 75/Ottawa River speed trap, that just stinks. Give folks coming out of Michigan better warning of the reduced speed limit in Ohio. There are two signs - one dropping to 65 at the border and another reducing it down to 60 about 3/4 of a mile further down the highway.

Both are easily missed if there is a semi in the right lane blocking your view of the speed limit signs.

And, to add insult to injury, I have to listen to that stupid plane flying in circles for hours.

Please, people know the speed limit.

Must be nice to live life without mistakes.

I drive through there every day and I couldn't have told you with any certainty the speed limit right there. I don't care about such things.

Everyone knows what a highway speed is. They are not pulling people over that are going 70 MPH for crying out loud. Babies.

Yes, everyone can guess a random highway speed and it will be right in some random location. That ignores the obvious discussion taking place here: the highway speed changes when you cross the border.

Yes, it does change when you cross the border but only by 5 MPH which I doubt thats what people are getting pulled over for.

Exactly, they are going 80 and more. I will never understand the mentality of people thinking they should be able to break laws with no punishment. I got a speeding ticket by a camera the other day and I paid it. Why? Because I was speeding.

I always coast and slow down as I approach the Ohio border when returning from Motown. Some drivers just keep cruising at 80, since I-75 in Michigan is simply a suggestion to match your speed.

I have seen the traps in the 475 construction zone lately, that grant money is getting used, Those narrow lanes and merge are a recipe for accidents, slow down definitely

The plane uses those big white stripes on the sides of the road to clock a start and end point and calculate your speed. Anyone want to go paint some extra lines?

Ryan, you paid your speeding ticket???

Don't you know you're supposed to refuse to pay it, and then come on here and bitch and moan about the intrusiveness of Big Government into your life, even though you admit you were speeding? Aren't you going to start a petition campaign to make the US Postal Service liable for any such dastardly mail sent to your home?

What are you, some kind of slacker?

Here's what I don't understand.. maybe I'm missing something though.

You're in a moving plane... using landmarks on the ground for start and stop times to calculate speed... wouldn't it be possible that they start and stop times may be skewed because of angles, etc?

"Yes, it does change when you cross the border but only by 5 MPH which I doubt thats what people are getting pulled over for"

It then drops another 5 mph down to 60 as you round the bend prior to the Alexis Rd. exit.

Again, if you travel this stretch on a regular basis, you are likely aware of it. If you do travel this stretch of highway, you are also aware that it is HEAVILY travelled by semi-trucks and, one of those trucks could be in the right lane blocking your view of the 60mph sign.

If some schmuck wants to do 80 through there, they deserve what they get. But Joe Blow from Altoona, PA. who may have never been through here before could very well be unaware that the speed limit drops a total of 10 mph when you leave Michigan.

More signage for people like Joe Blow would be beneficial. If he chooses to ignore them, then he too deserves to have a conversation with one of Toledo's finest.

Yeah I do aggree they should add more signage for people unfamiliar with the speed limits. But with Mich. being surrounded by water and Ohio being pretty much their only way in and out, Joe Blow should've been aware of the speed limit difference between the two states.

If I'm unsure of the speed limit, I'll go a little slower than the other drivers on the highway. But thats me.

FYI - I-75 speed trap is up and running again this afternoon.

I am curious how many of you hang out at 60mph in the left lane, completely oblivious to the long line of cars backed up behind you.