Ohio bill allows more local police on interstates

One Ohio House bill would open the door to townships sending local police officers out to patrol interstates. The effort is raising red flags about possible speed traps.

Ohio law permits all township police to make arrests during traffic stops on state and national highways. Townships with a population under 50,000, however, are prohibited from traffic enforcement on the state’s interstates.

Only seven of the state’s 1,308 townships have a population of more than 50,000.

The House Criminal Justice Committee recently held the fourth hearing on a bill to grant authority to enforce driving rules and make arrests for townships with populations of 5,000 to 50,000.

Township trustees would have the ability to decide whether to permit their police department to patrol and enforce driving rules on stretches of interstate that run through their jurisdiction. Affected stretches of interstate must also have a permanent access point on and off the roadway that is open to the public.

Help on the interstates

Bill sponsors say the bill would allow many townships to step forward to assist the Highway Patrol with efforts that include enforcement of distracted driving rules.

Rep. Gil Blair, D-Niles, previously testified to the committee that the Ohio Department of Transportation’s distracted drivers corridor, which is a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 80 in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, includes townships that would have new authority to help with enforcement efforts.

Local police would be permitted to enforce driving violations that include speeding, distracted driving, improper lane use, expired vehicle registrations, and unauthorized use of an electronic clearance device to allow a commercial vehicle to bypass a scale location.

Opening the door to speed traps?

Critics have raised concern that removing the population threshold could result in speed traps on the state’s fastest roadways.

Blair has said that townships could receive a portion of fine revenue, but he classified the amount as not being substantial.

Montville Police Department Lieutenant Matthew Neil told the committee his township gets $5 for every traffic ticket written. He said it would be cost prohibitive to send someone out to an interstate simply to issue tickets.

“(Our residents) don’t want us sitting on an interstate writing a bunch of tickets. … It is not our intention to put an officer out on the interstate.”

Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, told Land Line that the bill he co-sponsors addresses concerns about local police abusing the rule.

“The bill includes a provision where township trustees may revoke the previously granted authority.”

The bill, HB539, awaits a possible vote in the House Criminal Justice Committee.

More Land Line coverage of news from Ohio is available.