The Ohio State Highway Patrol is using a new tactic to catch speeders along the Ohio Turnpike.
OSHP is now using a semi truck to help troopers issue work zone speeding citations. The truck was seized under the Ohio Drug Offender Law. The semi is typically used for recruitment and education purposes, but OSHP saw an opportunity to use it for speed enforcement.
"It's something that we see far too often," OSHP Sergeant Ryan Purpura said of work zone speeding.
In 2025, OSHP issued 2,142 work zone speeding citations along the turnpike. More than half of those citations were for speeding 20 miles over the speed limit.
Troopers are hoping this semi, marked with the OSHP insignia, will get drivers to slow down.
Catching speeders is now a group operation thanks to this new semi. Two troopers ride in the semi with one driving and operating the speed radar. The other shares information over the radio with nearby troopers.
The troopers on the road spot the vehicle, follow it and wait for confirmation from the troopers in the semi. Then, the trooper can make the traffic stop.
The Ohio Turnpike said it welcomes the added enforcement presence in its work zones.
"It's such a high profile enforcement detail that's clearly going to get the attention of motorists in our work zones especially," Ohio Turnpike Public Information Officer Brian Newbacher said.
Getting drivers to obey work zone speed limits is top of mind for the turnpike, as more than 1,000 workers are expected to help in 2026 with a continued pavement replacement project.
The turnpike wants to make sure each one gets home safely.
"If you don't see them right away," Newbacher said. "They are going to be there, whether it's in a median wall. Some cases there are no barriers. Just cones and barrels."
As the summer travel season begins, drivers on the turnpike are asked to slow down and plan ahead for some delays as construction continues.
"Just plan ahead a few extra minutes," Newbacher said. "You'll get to your destination safely, and our workers will get home safely."
