Click It or Ticket kicks off
Ohio State Highway Patrol Marysville Post Commander Lt. Molly Harris presents coupons for free ice cream to driver Maloree Miller, her daughter, back seat passenger Lilly, 4; and front seat passenger Wade Miller, all of Bellefontaine, after each of them was observed wearing their seat belts or restrained in a car seat during a Click It or Ticket event at Dairy Queen, 547 E. Sandusky Ave. Also pictured are Logan County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Coleton Piatt, far left, and Bellefontaine Police Department Officer Greg Van Buskirk, at the right. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)
Area drivers and their passengers who were “caught” wearing their seat belts Monday when approaching Dairy Queen, 547 E. Sandusky Ave., Bellefontaine, were offered a sweet reward by law enforcement officers — a coupon for a free ice cream cone from the business — as a Click It or Ticket kick-off event for the traffic enforcement campaign that continues through June 2.
Troopers of the Marysville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, deputies of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and officers of the Bellefontaine Police Department joined forces for the Dairy Queen event. They said safety belt usage continues to be a primary focus throughout the extra traffic patrols that will be conducted on Logan County roadways and throughout the country during the next several weeks, and especially during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
Targeting the early start to the summer and busy travel season, law enforcement officials said the seat belt reminders for motorists are important and statistically speaking, can save lives.
“With the Memorial Day weekend coming up and our roadways being extra busy with people headed to get-togethers and cook-outs, we want to make sure that people get home safely to their families,” Lt. Harris said.
“While we are seeing a small increase with our seat belt use across the state, we still have a long way to go. Last year in Logan County, individuals not wearing their seat belts was linked to at least half of the 13 fatal crashes in the county.”
In 2018, Ohio’s observed safety belt usage rate was 84.9 percent, a small increase from 2017 when the rate was 82.8 percent.
However, Ohio is still below the national average rate of 89.6 percent, troopers said.
Read complete story in Tuesday’s Examiner.
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