Advocates has sent a letter to the chair and vice chair of the House Criminal Justice Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives in support of House Bill (HB) 536 to upgrade the seat belt, child booster seat and child restraint for children who outgrow a booster seat laws to primary enforcement. Seat belt usage is exceptionally low in Ohio, at only 80.8 percent, and significantly lower than the national average of 91.9 percent. Alarmingly, usage in the Buckeye State has declined more than five percent since 2019 despite increasing nationally during the same period.
Similarly, primary enforcement of the booster seat and child seat belt use law is needed to promote proper restraint of young passengers. Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children in the United States.
Read the full letter here.