LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — The Ohio State Highway Patrol's motorcycle unit was busy during its week of enforcement in Lucas County in mid-July.
Troopers used the size of their bikes to safely enforce traffic laws in a work zone on I-475.
There are ten troopers assigned to the motorcycle unit. Four are based in Cincinnati and six in Columbus, but now they're taking their duties on the road. Sgt. Talmadge Lewis has been on the unit since 2012.
"We travel all over the state in these construction zones," Lewis said. "This is the first one we're doing for this program, but next month we'll be in Cleveland."
Lewis said because the motorcycles are a fraction of the size of a squad car or SUV, troopers can maneuver more safely around barrels in tight construction zones.
Lewis said many crashes happen in work zones because drivers are simply going too fast and aren't keeping a safe distance between vehicles. He said that puts everyone's safety at risk, not to mention the headache caused when a crash brings traffic to a halt.
"That's why we're here, is to try to make these zones as safe as we can for the workers out here," Lewis said. "Because without them doing their jobs, the highways get torn up."
Tom Morris is one of those workers. He's the transportation manager of the Ohio Department of Transportation's Northwood Post.
"The guys on the paver back there, they are right on the line," Morris said. "So they can reach out just six inches and they're right there with traffic."
OSHP reports in the last five years, there have been 102 deaths in Ohio work zones and 11 in northwest Ohio. That includes workers, drivers and pedestrians.
The motorcycle unit is just another tool in the box of keeping everyone safe, but troopers are asking drivers to do their part by slowing down and moving over.