The national seat belt campaign runs from May 22 to June 4. The CCCHD will host a press conference at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 16, at 529 E. Home Road, along with the Clark County Safe Communities Coalition and local law enforcement including the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
“The CCCHD urges drivers to buckle up during the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) national Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort,” health district officials said in a release.
As part of the event. the Clark County Safe Communities Coalition will participate in a SADD quick-click challenge with the Greene County Safe Communities Coalition where teams of students and adults will engage in a safety belt relay to showcase the “simplicity and importance” of fastening safety belts.
So far this year in Clark County, a total of 484 seat belt enforcement stops have been recorded compared to 290 in 2023, and six fatalities have attributed to not wearing a seatbelt.
In 2021, there were 11,813 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the U.S., and 57% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night were not wearing their seatbelts, according to the NHTSA.
Data shows that seat belt use is higher among females than males. Nearly twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females in 2021, with 54% of males and 42% of females unrestrained.
For more information, visit NHTSA.gov/ciot.
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