Ohio Drivers and Emptier Roads

What do drivers do when stay-at-home orders decrease traffic on the roads and they decide to ignore said orders?

Well, they don’t necessarily take a leisurely drive and obey speed limits.

“The levels of extreme speeding have increased dramatically,” says Harvey Miller, professor of geography at Ohio State University and director of the school’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA).

CURA researchers, using data from INRIX, looked at traffic patterns in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati in 2019 and after March 23, when the Ohio stay-at-home order went into effect.

The Numbers

Overall, Ohioans are evidently law-abiding drivers. That is, in 2019, the researchers found, the average level of speeding was 0.8 mph to 1 mph.

Post-March 23 the average level of speeding was 2.1 mph to 2.6 mph.

Miller said, “The average level of speeding is not very high. But the extremes have gone up quite a bit.”

CURA found that in places like I-270 on the west side of Columbus, speeding has averaged 7 to 28 mph above the posted speed. And findings are similar in parts of Cleveland and Cincinnati.

“The message is that less traffic doesn’t necessarily mean our streets are safer,” Miller said. “In some ways, they may be more hazardous because we’re seeing more dangerous speeding.”

This isn’t just an Ohio issue. Miller pointed out that traffic deaths have increased in Minnesota.

A Consideration

For those who might be inclined to speed while traffic is still light, ask yourself this: If something goes horribly wrong, do you really want to be in an ER right now?