Officials urge seat belt safety

“We’ve already had three fatal crashes so far this year, and in three of them non-seat belt use was a factor,” said Peg Buda, Williams County Health Department Safe Communities Coalition coordinator.

She added the county’s seat belt use has been measured at 92.5%, while the state’s overall usage has fallen to 80.5%, its lowest amount since 2005.

“Of all the traffic laws we enforce, seat belt use is the easiest and most absolute way to reduce serious injury in a crash, and yet we still find people not using them,” said Williams County Sheriff Tom Kochert.

In 2022, 1,275 people died in crashes in Ohio, and about 63% of those deaths were directly related to not wearing a seat belt. Research has found that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45% and risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%. Ohio remains below the national seat belt use rate of 91.6%.

According to NHTSA, in 2021, there were 11,813 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 57% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

Neighboring states of Indiana and Michigan, which both have primary seat belt offense laws, had seat belt compliance rates in 2021 of 92.9% and 92.6% respectively.

“The Williams County Safe Communities Coalition wants seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” Buda said. “Wearing a seat belt every trip, every time is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash.”

During the enforcement mobilization, law enforcement officers nationwide enforce seat belt laws by conducting seat belt checkpoints and zero-tolerance seat belt enforcement activities. Over 900 law enforcement agencies in Ohio are encouraged to conduct seat belt enforcement to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. The goal is to save lives by getting everyone to buckle up. Changing driver behavior is the focus of traffic safety education efforts.