Speed crackdown on I-270 continues

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) – Several law enforcement agencies in central Ohio are continuing their crackdown on speeding on Interstate 270 with the latest part of their special speed enforcement operation on Thursday.

"It's all about safety,” Dublin Police Sgt. David Gatterdam said. “I think sometimes people don't realize every mile an hour you go faster, the less time you have to react to something happening in front of you on the roadway. So we are out here reminding people to slow down to keep them safe and prevent those injury and fatal crashes."

The operation started in May. Gatterdam said the department had received almost 200 complaints about speeding and other dangerous driving on I-270.

Thursday was the fifth day of the operation. Despite posts ahead of time on social media and a visible presence on the highway, police are still catching drivers going well over the speed limit.

"It gives some validation to the fact we need to still be out here and we still have work to do,” Gatterdam said. “We’re not hiding, we’re very visible, most of us are parking on the inside median, visible from a long way, as you can see down 270. So we’re going to stick to it and keep working on it. But it does give validation to the complaints."

NBC4 on Thursday rode along with Gatterdam. After each time he set up, it only took him about two minutes at most to clock drivers going 84 miles per hour or faster.

"We want people to slow down because we do not want the crashes,” he said. “We don't want anybody getting hurt out here.”

Hilliard Police, Columbus Police, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office (FCSO), and the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) are all part of the operation. Between all the agencies, 155 speeding tickets issued on the first four days of the operation, according to numbers gathered by Gatterdam.

“No one wakes up thinking they’re going to get into an injury crash or a fatal crash, but it happens, so we don't want that to be you and that's why we’re out here enforcing speed limits, along with all other motor vehicle offenses," Gatterdam said.