State Patrol Seat Belt Law Campaign: What Is The Seatbelt Law?
Troopers Will Ticket You For Seat Belt Law Violations Starting Monday!
On Monday (May 18, 2015) the Ohio State Highway Patrol will begin a seat belt law enforcement blitz targeting drivers and passengers who are not buckled up. The seat belt crackdown is part of the national Click It or Ticket campaign.
What makes this an interesting push by troopers is Ohio’s seatbelt law (O.R.C. 4513.263 ) is a secondary offense, meaning that a trooper has to have another reason for pulling you over. Primary seat belt laws allow law enforcement officers to ticket a driver or passenger for not wearing a seat belt, without any other traffic offense taking place. Secondary law states, like Ohio permit law enforcement officers to issue a ticket for not wearing a seat belt only when there is another citable traffic infraction.
We often see a spike in the number of arrests for aggressive driving, following too closely, license plate light malfunctions, noise violations and other minor charges along with arrests for more serious offenses like drug violations and OVI (drunk driving) during this enforcement blitz.
What is the penalty? Drivers and front-seat passengers must wear a safety belt. Drivers can get hit with a $30 fine, and passengers with a $20 fine, for ignoring the rule. However, since disobeying the seat belt law isn’t considered to be a moving offense, no points will be applied to a driving record. If you are arrested on a seat belt charge, or for an OVI offense, contact Charles M. Rowland II at (937) 318-1384 or on the 24 hr. DUI hotline at (937) 776-2671.
