CLEVELAND — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled a new traffic safety corridor on I-90 in Cuyahoga County aimed at increasing seat belt usage and reducing speed-related crashes.
The initiative focuses on an eight-mile stretch of the interstate, from East 55th Street to East 260th Street, a notorious hotspot for speed-related and unbelted crashes.
“You’ll see a lot of signage letting you know you’re in the area," Ray Santiago, Ltn. with the Highway Patrol Public Affairs Unit, said. "You should be seeing a lot of troopers in the area working it. Along with our fellow officers from partnering agencies.”
Cuyahoga County leads Ohio in both categories, with the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) reporting that since 2021, approximately one-third of crashes in this area involved unbelted motorists.
The new Speed & Seat Belt Safety Corridor represents a collaboration between OSHP, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), and local police departments from Cleveland, Euclid, and Bratenahl.
DeWine emphasized the need for the corridor, noting the frequent encounters officers have with reckless drivers. "We're giving this stretch of I-90 extra attention because many of the fatal and severe-injury crashes here could have been prevented with lower speeds and seat belts," he said.
The corridor will feature increased patrols, with a zero-tolerance policy for speeding and seat belt violations. Since 2021, there have been 413 crashes involving excessive speed in this area, resulting in 458 speeding tickets and 717 seat belt violations issued by troopers.
ODOT has installed multiple signs along the corridor to inform motorists about the heightened law enforcement presence and to encourage compliance with speed limits and seat belt laws. Some signs will even feature a digital counter displaying the number of days since the last serious crash.
Despite Ohio law requiring all drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts, 62% of statewide fatal crashes since 2021 involved unbelted motorists.
The 2023 Observational Survey of Seat Belt Use found that only 84% of Ohio drivers and passengers buckle up, which is below the national average. In Cuyahoga County, that number drops to around 72%.
Currently, failing to wear a seat belt is a secondary traffic violation in Ohio, meaning officers cannot stop drivers solely for not buckling up. DeWine has advocated for making it a primary offense, which would allow immediate stops for seat belt violations. "
It's not about issuing tickets, it's about saving lives," he said.
Motorists using I-90 should expect to see more officers and troopers patrolling the corridor.
The governor's initiative aims to emulate the success of other safety corridors in the state, such as the one near Youngstown, which saw a 30% decrease in serious crashes during its two-year operation.
Last year, Summit County introduced a Distracted Driving Safety Corridor.
RELATED: OSHP, ODOT unveil new Distracted Driving Safety Corridor in Summit County
