Click it or ticket: Ohio motorists among most unbuckled drivers in U.S.

It’s safest to buckle up when you get inside the car, no matter which seat you’re going to sit in.

Injury lawyers Bader Scott analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to see which states had the lowest rate of seat belt use on average between 2015 and 2022.

“While in many states seat belt usage is on a steady rise since 2015, there’s an alarming difference between the bottom and top states,” said Seth Bader. “Considering cars are such an essential part of everyday life for many Americans, it’s also important to keep safe due to many factors, even though car safety as a whole has come leaps and bounds over the past few decades.”

Ohio placed tenth on national list of unbuckled drivers

Ohio placed tenth on the list compiled from NHTSA data for states with the lowest number of seat belts secured regularly.

Here are the top ten states least likely to put their seat belts on:

1. New Hampshire
2. Massachusetts
3. South Dakota
4. Mississippi
5. Arkansas
6. Wyoming
7. North Dakota
   
   
8. Nebraska
9. Virginia
10. Ohio

Whether it’s an instinct or a habit you want to pick back up, statistics show you’ll be safer behind the wheel if you’re buckled up.