While across the United States violent crime rates continue to decline sharply, the same cannot be said about rural traffic fatalities in Ohio.

Preliminary figures indicate 985 people died in traffic crashes on rural Ohio highways in 1998, as compared to the 983 people killed during 1997.

Rural traffic fatalities account for roughly two-thirds of all Ohio traffic deaths. Rural roads are considered to be any road outside of a city limit boundary.

There are contributing reasons for the rise in traffic fatalities on Ohio rural roadways.

Foremost, a decrease in safety belt usage appeared to fuel the 1998 traffic fatality increase. Ohio’s overall safety belt compliance rate fell from 65 percent to 63 percent last year. Compare that statistic to the 69 percent national safety belt compliance rate and it is clear Ohio has a long way to go in the effort to get everyone buckled.

Just under half of those killed last year in crashes on Ohio’s rural highways were wearing safety belts at the time of the crash. An analysis of those killed shows 49 percent of the drivers and 42 percent of the passengers were not wearing the seat belts available to them at the time of the crash.

In Ohio, the most current safety belt usage survey revealed female drivers have the highest safety belt compliance rate at 68 percent, and male passengers have the lowest compliance rate at 47 percent.

Ejection from a vehicle is one of the most injurious events that can happen to a person in a crash. Safety belts are effective in preventing ejections.

The Patrol supports the proposed primary safety belt legislation because of the benefits to public safety the law would provide. This law, if passed, would permit law enforcement officers the authority to stop a vehicle if the driver or passengers are observed not wearing a safety belt.

The current Ohio law only allows an officer to issue a safety belt citation if the driver was stopped for another traffic violation. In other words, an officer must wait for a driver to violate two traffic laws before issuing a safety belt citation: the primary violation and the safety belt violation.

There are other factors that contributed to the increase in rural traffic fatalities last year.

Excessive speed is traditionally the leading causative factor involved in fatal crashes in Ohio. In 1998 that held true as speed was a contributing factor in 19 percent of the fatal crashes. Failure to yield contributed to almost 16 percent of the fatal crashes.

The Patrol’s Partners for Safety approach to traffic safety, introduced in 1998, which utilizes education in addition to enforcement, will focus this year on increasing citizen participation in traffic safety.

An April 1998 statewide poll showed Ohioans believe they are safer in their vehicle than walking in their neighborhood. The poll also revealed citizens are less likely to report dangerous drivers than suspicious individuals in their neighborhood.

By contrast, Ohio statistics support the Patrol’s position that the greater danger to Ohioans exists when they are in a vehicle, not in their neighborhood.

Traffic safety professionals, automobile manufacturers, and law enforcement officers all agree that safety belts are one of the most effective ways of reducing the injuries and deaths associated with vehicle crashes.

Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates safety belts reduce the risk of death to front seat occupants in crashes by 45 percent, and reduce the risk of overall injury by 55 percent.

There are also financial consequences to not wearing safety belts, in addition to the obvious health and safety consequences. Studies have shown the average inpatient costs for crash victims who were not using safety belts were up to 55 percent higher than for those who were belted.

As a reminder, motorists can contact the Patrol to report drunk drivers by dialing 1-800-GRAB DUI or cellular *DUI.

An excellent way to check travel conditions statewide is through the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s toll-free road and weather conditions hotline, 1-888-2-OH-ROAD (1-888-264-7623). Additionally, road and weather conditions are available through links available on the Patrol’s website at www.state.oh.us/ohiostatepatrol/.

Also, remember to call the Patrol toll-free at 1-877-7-PATROL to report disabled vehicles.