Chester Law Group Co., LPA | Ohio’s “Click It or Ticket” Campaign a Great Way to Avoid Serious Injuries

Ohio’s annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign to get Ohio drivers to wear their seatbelts runs from May 24 to June 6, 2010.  The campaign is designed to get all Ohioans, from Toledo to Youngstown to Cincinnati, and everywhere in between, to realize that buckling up can save lives and to get more people to buckle up.   The campaign is also designed to let Ohioans know that there is a zero tolerance policy towards not wearing a seatbelt.  National seatbelt usage has been increased by the continuing, yearly campaign, and is estimated to be almost 85% usage.  Each Memorial Day season, police officers introduce all kinds of advertising directed at buckling up while driving. 
 
What most people do not know is that if you are not wearing a seatbelt and you are injured because of someone else’s negligence, the party at fault will use your lack of seatbelt usage against you. Over the years I have heard countless defense lawyers argue that the client would not have gone through the windshield, etc. if only he or she had followed Ohio law and wore a seatbelt. This contributory negligence argument may not always be allowed into evidence by Ohio courts, but when it is, it can really affect an injured person’s recovery. Who wants to be seriously injured by some negligent Ohio driver only to find out that your medical bills will not be paid in full by the party who caused the accident because you did not wear a seatbelt. Hopefully, by letting you know the legal and financial consequences of not wearing a seatbelt on Ohio roads, you will always wear one and insist everyone in your car does also.
 
On a personal note, as an Ohio car accident lawyer, I have a unique perspective on the issue of seatbelt usage.  I have seen so many clients come through my door over the years with very serious injuries that could have been avoided if only they had worn their seat belts.  Of all the clients I have had, I remember one Stark County client said  “I never thought it would happen to me” and another from Canton who said “I did not realize how much it hurts to get hit by a car without a seatbelt.” 
 
When you think about it, without a seatbelt, you are like a rag doll being thrown around the vehicle you are in. Even low impact accidents can cause serious injuries, including broken bones and closed head injuries.  
 
If you love someone, insist they wear a seatbelt. My injured clients who did not wear seatbelts and who are parents tell me that they had no idea that wearing a seatbelt could harm their family so seriously by allowing avoidable serious injuries from relatively minor accidents.  Their inability to work from the accident jeopardized their jobs and their family’s financial security.  If you love your family, please buckle up. When you have seen all that I have seen in my many years in practice, you would be afraid NOT to wear one.  Any minor inconvenience of wearing a seatbelt is outweighed by the risk of catastrophic injury and death from an Ohio motor vehicle accident. 


If you have been hurt in an Ohio car crash, call the Ohio car accident lawyers at Chester Law Group at 1-800-218-4243 or order your FREE BOOK entitled “The Insider’s Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims” at www.chesterlaw.com.