TOLEDO (May 24) — Highway patrols in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are joining forces this week on a safety belt enforcement blitz. The special enforcement will continue through Memorial Day.
The high-visibility enforcement will include the Indiana State Police, Kentucky State Police, Michigan State Police, Pennsylvania State Police and the West Virginia State Police, as well as Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The initiative began at 12:01 am. Monday (May 23) and ends at 11:59 p.m. May 30. It coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign as well as the Highway Patrol’s Operation CARE All-American Buckle Up Mobilization.
“Properly using a safety belt is a simple step that has proven to save lives,” said Col. Richard Fambro, patrol superintendent for the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “Motorists must commit to buckling up every trip, every time, so they are protected if they are involved in a crash.”
The project is a multistate law enforcement partnership aimed at providing combined and coordinated law enforcement and security services in the areas of highway safety, criminal patrol and intelligence sharing.
Nine people died on Ohio’s roads over Memorial Day weekend 2021. Twenty died in traffic crashes over Memorial Day weekend 2020, according to Highway Patrol statistics.