Troopers use seized semi truck for traffic enforcement along Ohio Turnpike

The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) is using a police-marked semi truck in enforcement activities in work zones.

Amid a push for increased work zone safety, OSHP has deployed a semi truck with attached trailer for traffic enforcement in construction areas along the 241-mile Ohio Turnpike, officials with the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission said on Wednesday.

During the enforcement patrols, one trooper drives the truck while another sits in the passenger seat, using the truck’s height to look for traffic violations like distracted driving, speeding, or following too closely.

If a violation is spotted, the troopers in the truck radio to officers in marked patrol cruisers who can then perform traffic stops and issue warnings or citations.

“It allows our trooper to see a different vantage point when we’re in that semi, we see safety belt compliance, speeding, following too close, distracted driving, all things that you really don’t want to do in a work zone,” OSHP Sgt. Ryan Purpura told WKYC.

Ohio troopers told the Toledo Blade that the semi truck is outfitted with radar to help troopers catch speeders. Other features include an OSHP wrapped trailer and blue police lighting to let drivers know the truck is an official police vehicle.

The semi truck was seized years ago by police as part of a drug arrest, Fox 8 reports, and since then has been used as part of recruitment and educational campaigns.

Several other states used marked semi trucks for enforcement, recruiting, or education. See below for more.

Florida Highway Patrol

Tennessee Highway Patrol