The Ohio State Highway Patrol and several central Ohio law enforcement agencies will conduct targeted operations along Interstate 270 to address reckless driving and reduce fatal crashes in Franklin County.
On July 19-25, the patrol will work with Columbus, Dublin and Gahanna police, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Department of Transportation to address speeding and reckless driving along I-270, according to a media release from the patrol. The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Aviation Unit will also participate in the operation.
The agencies will be “highly visible and enforcing Ohio’s traffic laws” during the week of the enforcement, the patrol said.
“Our main goal is to save lives and keep Ohio families safe,” Columbus district commander Capt. Eric Caudill said in a prepared statement announcing the enforcement. “Reckless driving can have life-changing consequences, and through this joint operation, we are sending a clear message that dangerous driving will not be tolerated.”
According to data from the patrol, there have been 531 fatal crashes in Franklin County between 2021 and 2025. The patrol said Franklin County had the highest number of fatal crashes out of all counties in the state during that time. From Jan. 1 through July 9, there have been 786 crashes on I-270, with 144 of them being caused by unsafe speeds, according to patrol data.
After Franklin County, Cuyahoga County had 490 fatal crashes between 2021 and 2025, followed by Hamilton and Montgomery counties, with 325 and 295 crashes, respectively.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, @ShahidMeighan on X and shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Highway patrol, police to target speeding, reckless drivers on I-270
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
