Fewer Ohio drivers are buckling up
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Wearing a seat belt can be a life or death choice, and a growing number of Ohioans are choosing to go without.
Why it matters: Most people killed in Ohio car accidents are not buckled up, an unnecessary risk some state and federal officials are trying to mitigate.
- All drivers and front seat passengers are required to wear a seat belt and those under 16 must wear them anywhere in the vehicle.
By the numbers: Ohio's seat belt usage is at its lowest level since 2005, state research finds.
- Around 81% of Ohio drivers wore seat belts in 2022, per an observational study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- That's down from 86% of drivers in a 2019 study and is well below the national usage rate of just under 92%.
Threat level: Over the past decade, Ohio has averaged 476 traffic fatalities per year involving occupants not wearing seat belts, Cleveland.com reports.
- There have been 419 such crashes thus far in 2023, the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) reports.
- Crash deaths spiked during the pandemic here and nationally as drivers engaged in risky behaviors like speeding and texting.
Zoom in: Ohio law enforcement agencies are limited in their ability to catch unbelted drivers and passengers.
- Seat belt violations are a secondary offense, meaning you can't be pulled over solely for that reason.
- In a recent multi-day targeted enforcement campaign for all traffic laws across the entire Ohio stretch of I-70, OSHP issued hundreds of speeding tickets, but just 31 seat belt citations.
- OSHP has reported around 47,000 statewide seat belt enforcement stops this year to date, including 2,000 in Franklin County.
Between the lines: Gov. Mike DeWine supported language in the state budget that would have elevated these violations to primary offenses, but Republican lawmakers rejected the idea.
The bottom line: "We want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike," Emily Davidson, executive director of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, said earlier this year.
- "Unrestrained deaths are completely preventable. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash."