DeWine pushes for new Ohio seat belt law — what it would mean for drivers

COLUMBUS (WJW) – Governor Mike DeWine is pushing for a new and tougher seat belt law in Ohio that would give police the power to pull over and ticket drivers strictly for not wearing one.

Under current state law, not wearing a seat belt is a secondary offense, which means you must be pulled over for another violation, like speeding, before you can be cited for not buckling up.

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“To me, that part is fair because, I mean, you’re being pulled over for one thing. If you’re not wearing it, you should be wearing it. I’m fine with that,” said Ohio driver Brandon Baxter.

It was during his State of the State Address on April 10 that Governor DeWine proposed the primary seat belt law.

The governor maintains that if the statute is approved, it would help stem a troubling trend.

“Ohio is tenth from the bottom, tenth from the bottom of all states in seat belt use. While the national average for seat belt use is 91%, Ohio’s number is only 81%,” he said.

Among the alarming numbers cited by the state, in 2022 alone, 527 people who were not wearing their seatbelts were killed in car crashes in the state, which more than 60% of the total number of fatal crashes that year.

Supporters of the primary seat belt law maintain it would serve as a deterrent and save lives.

They are comparing the proposal to the state’s distracted driving law, which established cell phone use while driving as a primary offense.

“There would be people who were killed last year that would still be walking the Earth today, had they just taken the time to put that seat belt on,” said Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

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However, some state lawmakers and drivers are already sounding the alarm about the proposed primary seat belt law, citing questions about fairness in enforcement and infringement on personal freedoms.

“The folks who tend to get those tickets, those folks who are stopped the most are people who are least able to pay the bill. I have some trepidation about it, but we’ll let it run its course through the Senate and see what people have to say,” said Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima).

When asked how Ohioans would react if the proposal becomes law, Brandon Baxter said, “you’ve got a lot of people crying about rights. That could be one of them that’s going to lift a lot of eyebrows.”

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