CIRCLEVILLE- The Ohio State Highway Patrol is reminding everyone to buckle-up this upcoming holiday season and continue to do so throughout the New Year. In the last two years, a total of 1,142 people were killed in crashes who were not wearing an available safety belt.
“It’s simple – safety belts save lives and reduce injury in crashes,” said Lt. Steven K. Herron, commander of the Circleville Post. “It is the easiest thing you can do to protect yourself, your family and friends.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 409 lives were saved in Ohio and 14,668 were saved nationwide in 2016 by safety belts.
According to Ohio’s 2018 Observational Seatbelt Survey, more than 84 percent of motorists were found to be in compliance with Ohio’s safety belt law, an increase from 2017. Unfortunately, this illustrates far too many Ohioans still do not buckle up.
Ohio’s safety belt law remains a secondary violation, however troopers will continue zero tolerance enforcement when motorists are stopped for other violations and are found to not be wearing their safety belt. Last year, 124,697 people were convicted of driving or riding in a passenger vehicle without wearing a safety belt.
Troopers encourage everyone to Buckle Up Every Trip, Every Time. For a complete statistical analysis of safety belt violations please visit:
https://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/doc/Safety_Belt_Bulletin_2018.pdf
