Enforcing safety on the roads

by Andrea Wilcox
For the Post

As vacationers pack up their cars and hit the open roads this Memorial Day weekend, Ohio State Highway Patrol will be looking for speeders and seatbelt wearers.

OSHP will participate in the Ohio Department of Public Safety's safety belt campaign, "What's Holding You Back," today through June 4, said Lt. Michael Hunter, post commander at an Athens highway patrol outpost.

The campaign will team up with the American Red Cross to encourage people to donate blood in addition to enforcing safety belt use. And speakers have gone out to area high schools prior to their proms to promote wearing safety belts, Hunter said.

Officers plan to pull over drivers violating the Ohio seatbelt law, even though they do not specifically target seatbelt violations at other times, Hunter said.

When a vehicle is pulled over for another traffic offense, the officer can give the driver a citation for not using safety belts.

The Ohio safety belt law requires all front seat passengers to wear one. And the Ohio child passenger law requires children age 4 and younger or who weigh less than 40 pounds to be in a car seat, Hunter said.

Another safety campaign, Operation ABC Mobilization, will enforce the use of child safety seats this Memorial Day weekend, said Lt. Gary Lewis, a patrol spokesman for the highway patrol. Officers will target drivers who have unrestrained children in their cars, Hunter said.

Athens is among the top three counties in Ohio for safety belt usage, Hunter said.

"Public participation is going to be needed for this campaign to be effective," Lewis said.

Since the beginning of the year, 286 people were killed in various traffic accidents in Ohio. This past weekend, 19 people were killed on Ohio roads. In 10 of these accidents, safety belts were not used, he said.

Safety belt violations can cost drivers varied amounts from county to county, said Tracey Spears, deputy clerk at the Athens County courthouse. But in Athens, a driver can be charged with a $70 ticket, and a passenger can be charged with a $60 ticket.