State to participate in seat belt initiative

Van Wert independent/contributor content

COLUMBUS — Ohio is again participating in the national Click It or Ticket seat belt mobilization to remind Ohioans to buckle up — day and night. The Ohio Department of Public Safety’s (ODPS) Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS), which will lead this campaign, joined Indiana and Kentucky in this announcement because buckling up saves lives.

“The overall seat belt use rates have increased significantly in Ohio going from 65 percent in 2000 to 84 percent in 2010,” said ODPS Director Thomas P. Charles. “Because hundreds of people still die each year not wearing their seat belt, it is critical that we continue to encourage seat belt use — day and night — through enforcement and education.”

More than 900 law enforcement partners around Ohio, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, will be aggressively enforcing the law during the mobilization, which runs May 23 through June 5.

In 2009, 397 of the people killed in crashes on Ohio’s roads were not were not wearing seat belts.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), seat belts, when used by passenger vehicle occupants five and older, saved an estimated 12,713 lives in 2009 — more than 72,000 lives from 2005 through 2009 — and 267,890 lives from 1975 through 2009.

Law enforcement and other safety partners will be holding awareness events and educational activities to stress the importance of seat belt use around the state during the mobilization. OCJS is generating high-visibility awareness by providing magnets with the Click It or Ticket message to be placed on vehicles, as well as supporting NHTSA’s national media with statewide placement of messages on television, radio and newspaper ads. For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization and other programs run by the OCJS, log onto http://ohiohighwaysafetyoffice.ohio.gov/