Turnpike hosts appreciation day promoting safety

NEW SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WKBN)- The Ohio Turnpike held a customer appreciation Friday event at Glacier Hills Service Plaza in New Springfield.

Turnpike staff was there to greet people and promote safe summertime travel. Troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol also had a cruiser on display inside the service plaza.

“I got involved because it’s a good way for me to be able to meet and greet some of the people that we see up here on the turnpike. It’s a lot different than the usual where we are handing someone a ticket. This give me the opportunity to be able to speak with them before we meet on the side of the road,” said Lieutenant Phillip Robinson.

Summer travel is well underway and the Ohio Turnpike Commission wants to promote safety for drivers and construction workers.

“These are the 100 most dangerous days, deadly days of summer. This is where people are on vacation. This is where kids are off school and there is more vehicular travel. It’s a good idea for us to get out here and relay our message of traffic safety,” Robinson said.

Also part of the event was a vintage police car show. The vehicles are part of the Cleveland Police Museum which was first established to protect and preserve the history of law enforcement in and around the Cleveland area.

The museum has expanded to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Friday’s display was just a small part of the vintage fleet, which includes 21 vehicles.

“We have a 1970 Plymouth, a 1957 Plymouth, a 1990 Chevy Camero and a 2011 white Crown Vic which was the last Crown Victoria that the Patrol had in their inventory,” said Dale LaRue, with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

People at the appreciation day had a chance to spin an electronic prize wheel to win Ohio Turnpike merchandise and gift cards.

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