Colonel Paul McClellan
Superintendent
Ohio State Highway Patrol
Choosing to wear a safety belt is a personal decision, but Ohio’s safety belt compliance rate affects us all. Those affected may be passengers in the car with you, or other drivers on the road. The mission of State Highway Patrol and the What’s Holding You Back? campaign is to ensure the safety of all motorists on Ohio’s roadways.
Last year, more than half of all Ohioans who died on our roadways in motor vehicle crashes were unbuckled. While a safety belt may not have prevented all of these deaths, experts predict it would have saved many.
A statewide safety belt usage survey conducted by the Governor’s Highway Safety Office revealed that 70.3 percent of Ohio motorists are buckling up. While this is an increase of 6.1 percent from the previous year, it is still lower in comparison to many states that have safety belt usage rates of 80 percent or higher.
Additionally, the age group with the lowest percentage of safety belt usage is those aged 15 to 25. This age group represents the highest rates of injury in traffic crashes over all other age groups. Wearing a safety belt on Ohio’s roadways could save so many of these precious lives.
Adults who don’t buckle up are sending children the message that it is not important to wear a safety belt. Children model adult behavior. Research shows that when a driver is unbuckled, 70 percent of the time, children riding in that vehicle will not be buckled either. For a child, a 30 mile-per-hour crash is like dropping him or her from a third story window.
One fact remains; wearing a safety belt saves lives and reduces injury. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wearing your safety belt doubles your chance of surviving a crash without serious injury. Children who are in proper child restraint seats survive 90 percent of crashes.
With this in mind, I am asking all Ohioans to buckle up. In an effort to save lives and reduce injuries, troopers will increase safety belt enforcement on the road. Along with this additional enforcement, the Patrol hopes to educate the public about safety belt usage by joining the national What’s Holding You Back? safety belt campaign.
During this year’s campaign period, May 19 through June 1, troopers have adopted a zero tolerance policy on safety belt violations. Any driver who has an enforcement contact with the Patrol and is not wearing a safety belt will be issued a citation.
Society as a whole is affected by safety belt usage. Insurance and health care costs are significantly higher for crash victims who choose not to wear a safety belt. Health care providers spend valuable time and resources caring for patients who could have easily prevented or reduced their injuries with a click of their safety belt. In addition, priceless lives are lost.
The National Center for Statistics and Data finds that many of the motorists injured because they choose not to wear a safety belt do not have sufficient insurance. Taxpayers end up paying 85 percent of the health care costs for patients being treated for injuries as a result of not buckling up.
If you’re not wearing your safety belt - What’s holding you back?
It’s about safety.