COLUMBUS – Despite the highest gas prices since 2014, the Memorial Day holiday weekend is the start of what looks to be a busy summer travel season, with about two thirds of families planning a summer road trip.
The auto club AAA predicts 1.5 million Ohioans will hit the roads for weekend road trips over the Memorial Day holiday and law enforcement agencies in Ohio are already engaged in their annual “Click It or Ticket” safety belt enforcement campaign, which continues through Sunday, June 3.
Although traffic fatalities in Ohio were down by 6 percent between January 1 and May 14, compared to the same period a year ago, seat belt usage continues to be a primary focus of the Ohio State Highway Patrol because authorities say buckling up is the easiest way to increase safety while driving.
According to the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, 329 people were killed in traffic accidents during the first 4 ½ months of the year, compared with 350 in 2017.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that seatbelts saved nearly 15,000 lives in 2016, but nearly half of those killed in traffic crashes that year were not wearing seat belts.
The patrol issued 7,795 safety belt and 157 child safety seat citations during the 2017 Memorial Day holiday when three of five people killed in accidents were not wearing an available safety belt.
During the 2017 “Click It or Ticket” campaign, from May 22 to June 4, 13 of 25 people killed on Ohio roadways were not wearing an available safety belt.