The health district, Clark County Safe Communities Coalition, Partners in Prevention, Links and Springfield Fire Division will host a summer safety kickoff event from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at 529 E. Home Road, on the north side of Springfield, near the high school.
“Wearing a safety belt is the easiest thing you can do to protect yourself, your family, and friends,” said Lt. Shawn Cook, Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP).
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Since the start of 2020, there had been 102 fatal crashes in Clark County as of early May. Of those, 48, or 47%, involved unbelted drivers, according to OSHP data.
The national seat belt daytime use rate in 2024 by adults was 91.2%, compared to 91.9% in 2023, and in Clark County that rate was 94.6% in 2024, compared to 95.7% in 2023. Those statistics are from Ohio’s annual Statewide Observational Seat Belt Study.
Clark County Health District officials said Clark County’s rate is good, “but it can be better. The other 5.4% (from this year’s 94.6%) still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.”
One of the focuses of this campaign is nighttime enforcement, because NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities happen at night.
The data also shows seat belt use differs among males and females because more than half (53%) of males killed in crashes in 2023 were unrestrained, compared to 41% of females killed in crashes were not buckled up.
“Using a safety belt remains the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash,” Cook said.
Saturday’s kickoff event will include food trucks and vendors, games and activities, watermelon drops to simulate an unbelted crash, a Links presentation on opioid use and trauma, resource fair and more.
For more information, visit NHTSA.gov/ClickIt.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
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