The signs were the idea of Sgt. Steve Ream, who presented it to city Manager Doug Adkins. He was on board quickly.
“Aside from the fact that wearing your seat belt is required by law in Ohio, I watch the public safety dispatch board when I’m sitting in my office working,” Adkins said. “We handle a fairly large number of injury automobile accidents each year. If the signs around town get one person to buckle up and avoid injury in a later traffic accident, then the entire program was worthwhile. The potential safety return for a very modest cost made this an easy ‘yes’ from me when approached by MPD.”
The signs, at a cost of $28 each, are being made in house by the city’s public works department as time permits.
About 30 signs will eventually be posted, but for now police are focusing on areas around schools, including Fenwick High School and Middletown High School, because that is where the most inexperienced drivers are, police said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and light-truck occupants by 60 percent.
Of the 35,092 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2015, 48 percent were not wearing seat belts, according to the NHTSA.
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