Police presence on roads: Are our roads over-policed? (Akron, Parma: city hall, violent crime)

[Kerby W-R]

I support Black Lives Matter, too.
You can do both.

[bomgd3]

I drove home from Youngstown to Cleveland yesterday after work, and counted TEN police cars over my 60 mile commute! With multiple cars pulled over. Surely this is excessive...?

[Bo]

Originally Posted by bomgd3

I drove home from Youngstown to Cleveland yesterday after work, and counted TEN police cars over my 60 mile commute! With multiple cars pulled over. Surely this is excessive...?

If they were all committing traffic violations, is any number excessive? Either the traffic laws are enforced or not. I grew up in Ohio, and got enough tickets as a young driver to convince me to pay more attention to my speed. I lived in two other states, where enforcement was lighter and never got a single ticket in over a decade. I moved to Texas, where enforcement was either intense or non-existent, and got a couple of speeding tickets on city streets, just a short drive from my house.

At least here in Ohio, enforcement is abundant and not nearly as intense. It's also easy to spot on highways, with the Waze app.

[on3]

Cities that know how to budget their money properly that have higher median incomes don't have the same traffic cop issues as cities that don't. Cities that are more in dire need money have police clocking at a much higher rate. I moved out of such a city a long time ago. Now I NEVER see any police sitting and trying to hide to clock people. And I live in a busy suburb of 30k people, not some farm town lol.

You've got a better chance at winning the Ohio lottery than to try and pull some crap like that here and assign our police force a "quota". The citizens here would never stand for it. They are too busy being responsible drivers and the low amount of accidents doesn't justify the need for such a city funding money making scheme.

[WRnative]

Despite more hazardous weather conditions in Ohio than in many states, only 12 states by my count have lower motor vehicle crash fatalities per 100,000 persons than Ohio.

https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality...state-by-state

Drivers in Ohio may often take advantage of less congested freeways to drive well above the speed limit. Rarely are tickets issued on Ohio freeways unless the speed limit is exceeded by at least five mph.

https://radio.wosu.org/post/ohios-pa...0-mph#stream/0

Personally, I know where the speed traps are set on routes I travel frequently. Among the worst is Willoughby Hills, both on sections of I-271 and I-90 passing through that city. I have no doubt that traffic tickets are profit generation activities in many communities, especially those with their own municipal courts. Also, I've noticed that my local sheriff's department is much more likely to issuing warnings, perhaps because the sheriff is an elected position.

I generally use cruise control when possible to limit my risk given my tendency toward a heavy foot. I'm extraordinarily careful when driving in parts of Ohio that I don't know well, especially on rural routes where speed limits can change rapidly due to villages, and in urban areas where school zones always are a possibility. I feel safer driving above the speed limit when doing so in significant traffic flow when it is above the speed limit, such as on I-90 (but I do slow down regardless in Willoughby Hills).

According to this table, Ohio ranks 49th in auto insurance rates, despite apparently higher rates of ticketing (see discussion below). Maybe, we all receive a benefit from the relatively heavy enforcement of traffic laws in Ohio.

https://www.carinsurance.com/state-car-insurance-rates

Ohio reportedly is the third highest state ranked by percentage of drivers with a prior speeding ticket. It's also very high in the percentage of drivers with suspended licenses, which suggests that Ohioans have a propensity to break the traffic laws, likely including DUI.

https://insurify.com/insights/states...-tickets-2020/

[on3]

Never thought to correlate it to insurance rates. Interesting. Thanks for the links. I must be having the best of both worlds if no one hardly clocks here and the rates are lower than 48 other states.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Ask me after I get a $500 ticket for turning on the red
I’m telling you that is Satan in blue

[ocoilslick]

How much was the ticket, OP?

[LTU2]

Originally Posted by ocoilslick

How much was the ticket, OP?

Can't speak directly for him, but if the issuing jurisdiction mirrors state law, it is a Minor Misdemeanor, no jail, max $150.00 + costs if any.

[tallydude02]

I sometimes drive on I-70 between southwestern PA and Columbus and the biggest issue I see is drivers staying in the left lane and not yielding to faster drivers or they just stay in the left lane with no one behind them. Speed is pretty fast on that stretch of highway though and I do see drivers pulled over every time I go to Columbus.

On the other hand, I-80 in Pennsylvania is like a NASCAR track. Tailgating, speeding, cut offs...it's awful. If you are not driving 85 mph or higher, you become a nuisance. In this instance, enforcement would be nice.