Dear Chairman Oelslager and members of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on SB 176, which generally reflects traffic recommendations of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission. I have volunteered my time to the National Motorists Association, and regularly testified on traffic proposals since 1987, primarily on the 65-mph speed limit.

We agree with the Commission's assessment that existing speed penalties are both complex and overly harsh. Applying more points for speeding than drunk driving, as the existing penalties do, is unreasonable.

In the area of speeding penalties we disagree with SB 176 as introduced for two reasons. SB 176 classifies roads by posted speed limit rather than relative risk; and the penalties are incongruous.

The fundamental determinant of risk is highway design, not speed or speed limits (see notes). Low-speed roads are often more hazardous than high-speed, because high-speed roads are better designed. Failure to account for relative risk inevitably leads to misallocation of safety efforts.

In 1997 Ohio's interstate fatality rate was 0.46 deaths -- one-third Ohio's general rate of 1.39 deaths per 100 million miles-traveled. In raw terms, Ohio's interstate system accounted for 27% of travel, but just 9% of fatalities. Our significant public investment in highways pays off -- interstates are simultaneously our fastest and safest roads. If traffic points and penalties were based on objective risk factors, freeway speeding tickets would be less than half that of other speeding violations.

Ohio Route 4, near where I live, is posted at 60-mph. Under SB 176 (as introduced), I would receive zero points for traveling 70-mph (10-mph over), but 4 points for traveling 71-mph. This is an unwarranted and abrupt jump in points. A few miles further down Ohio 4 where it is posted 50-mph, I'd receive just 2 points for the same 71-mph, and I wouldn't hit 4 points until 81-mph.

Frankly, without fair and consistent traffic laws, it is difficult to have fair and consistent enforcement and penalties. For example, it is solely a jurisdictional issue that causes the speed limit on Ohio Route 4, which I mentioned above, to drop from 60-mph to 50-mph (compare ORC 4511.21(B)(4) and (B)(12)(c)).

The ubiquitous, 35-mph speed limit in municipalities was enacted in 1929 , when the Ford Model A was a new vehicle. 35-mph no more reflects many modern multi-lane roads or travel than, say, legislative district boundaries from 1929 reflect today's population.

Since the General Assembly encouraged the incorporation of townships by municipalities (I pass no other judgment on ORC 709.43 et al), previously rural 55-mph roads instantaneously become 35-mph municipal roads.

We recommend ODOT be required to conduct traffic and engineering investigations at least every decade on all major highways (about 4% of road mileage, but 40% of travel). We believe ODOT must determine reasonable and consistent speed limits and other traffic engineering for major highways throughout Ohio. ODOT can then provide objective data for enforcement focus, as well.

Predicated on reasonable speed limits, we recommend graduated penalty points ranging from 0-3 points in ten-mph increments for major highways. We recommend eliminating the hodgepodge of first-offense, 4^th degree misdemeanors; e.g. for exceeding 50-mph in a municipality -- apparently even in 45-mph or 50-mph zones -- per ORC 4511.99(D)(2); and eliminating ineffective 'fine doublings' (see Notes section D).

Thank you for your attention to these concerns. Please contact me if I may be of any assistance in our common quest for fair traffic laws. My day phone is 937/320-6382; evening is 937/236-6424.

Sincerely,

Duke P. Ganote

Ohio Legislative Director, National Motorists Association

6426 Silver Pheasant Court

Dayton, Ohio 45424-4177

A. Highway safety myths are discussed at the Federal Highway Administration websites, see Highway Safety Myths and Turner-Fairbanks Highway Research Center study entitled "Effects of Raising and Lowering Speed Limits".

In Ohio, 1997 fatality rates, fatalities and travel by highway type are summarized below:

Source: Section V of Federal Highway Administration's Highway Statistics 1997. Travel is in 100 million vehicle-miles-traveled, and the rate is fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles-traveled. "Other major highways" means the National Highway System excluding Interstates. I summed across Federal rural/urban classifications.

Internationally: Interstate-like highways ("motorways") have consistently lower fatality rates than other roads. Data from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is summarized (and converted from kilometers to miles) below:

Michigan Press Release on Results of Experiments with 70-mph Speed Limit

Missouri DOT Pamphlet on Speed Zoning

CALTRANS (California DOT)

Georgia DOT

Maryland DOT

Virginia DOT

Washington State DOT

West Virginia DOT

Work Zone Related Traffic Legislation: A Review of National Practices and Effectiveness by Gerald Ullman, et al. (Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3135; (Sept. 1997) [TD100: TX98-1720-1] Increasing fines does not appear to decrease accidents... summary from Arizona DOT's Document Review site.