(The Center Square) – An Ohio lawmaker plans to take up Gov. Mike DeWine’s push to make failure to wear a seatbelt in Ohio a primary offense, meaning motorists can be stopped and ticketed for not securing the safety device.
Rep. Jon Cross, R-Findley, is expected to announce his plan for the new law at a news conference Wednesday with members of DeWine’s administration.
Ohio law requires every driver and front seat passenger to wear a seat belt, along with all riders 8 to 14 years old in all seats.
Currently, failing to wear a seat in the state is a secondary offense. Drivers must be pulled over for another violation before they can be cited for not wearing a seat belt.
In his State of the State address in early April, DeWine urged lawmakers to toughen the state’s seat belt law, pushing the move after the state recently enacted a distracted driving law.
“We know that a primary seat belt law would protect people traveling on Ohio highways,” DeWine said in his speech. “We know it works. It’s a vote that will save lives.”
DeWine said Ohio ranks 10th from the bottom among all states in seat belt usage, saying the national average for seat belt use is 91%, while the state average is 81%.
As previously reported by The Center Square, a year after Ohio put in place stronger restrictions against using cellphones while driving, the state announced a more than 8% decrease in distracted driving.
Figures gathered by Cambridge Mobile Telematics show an 8.6% drop, which it says helped prevent 3,600 crashes, 2,000 injuries and 17 deaths in the past year.
