Since Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of the summer season, several law enforcement agencies across Ohio have banded together for the annual Click-It-or-Ticket Campaign. The campaign is designed to raise public awareness that seatbelts save lives.
Thursday morning, representatives from the Ohio State Patrol, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, the Bellefontaine Police Department, and the West Mansfield, West Liberty, Russells Point, and Liberty Township Police Departments gathered for the kickoff of the campaign, which runs through May 31.
According to the Ohio State Patrol, there were 264,532 crashes on Ohio roadways in 2025. Of that number, 1,034 resulted in fatalities, and almost 64,000 resulted in some other type of injury. While seatbelt violations are not a primary offense in Ohio, meaning a driver cannot be pulled over solely for not wearing a seatbelt, a movement is underway in Columbus to change that.
Lt. Matthew Himes, Commander of the OSP Marysville Post, said the campaign seeks to remind people that it only takes a few seconds to fasten their seatbelts and that it could save their lives. Lt. Himes talks about the campaign:
