Law enforcement trying to crack down on speeding, especially in construction zones

MIAMI VALLEY — Law enforcement is trying to crack down on speeding and distracted driving in construction zones.

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson is reporting LIVE on how Dayton Police officers are trying to keep summer drivers safe on the roads this morning on News Center 7′s Daybreak.

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The risk of dying in a car crash doubles for every 10 miles per hour of increased speed and that’s why drivers are seeing more law enforcement on the roads.

News Center 7 spoke with Dayton Police Sgt. Gordon Cairns on Wednesday, and he also discussed a deadly crash on Germantown Street and Gettysburg Avenue where two people died.

He said that the car was going over 70 m.p.h.

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Sgt. Cairns added that speeding is especially dangerous to people out walking and more motorcycles on the road now that the weather is warmer.

He said that drivers should make sure they are giving themselves a long following distance between themselves and the car in front of them, especially if there is a motorcycle.

Sgt. Cairns also pointed out that motorcycles will be able to brake quicker than a person’s car, and that drivers should not follow too close behind them.

He said that speed is one of the factors in a deadly crash and pointed out that in the deadly crash, the car turned off Gettysburg Avenue and went over 400 feet, getting up to 73 M.P.H., and lost control in front of a semi.

“And then at that point that perception reaction time for that driver was so short that they could not be able to come to a stop or correct themselves before being struck by that semi-truck,” said Cairns.

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Drivers are also seeing orange cones on Interstate 75 from Moraine to Miami Township where ODOT recently added a new contraflow lane on SB I-75.

Sgt. Cairns said he wants drivers to slow down, keep a long following distance, and put down their phones.

He added that when there are new lane changes, accidents will go up.

It is why Dayton Police, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and state troopers are making their presence known in these construction zones.

“I was actually out there yesterday doing speed enforcement, and we’re still getting vehicles going 80 miles an hour in a 50-mile-an-hour active construction zone on (Interstate) 75,” said Cairns.

He told News Center 7 that construction workers thanked him for being out there. They said cars flying past them can be scary.

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