MOUNT VERNON — People driving on the roads around Knox County not wanting to get a ticket had better think twice before getting behind the wheel and not buckling their seat belt. The Knox County Safe Communities Coalition, along with the Ohio Highway State Patrol, Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Mount Vernon Police Department, are joining forces to reinforce the message of always wearing a seat belt when driving.
The campaign was kicked off this week and runs through June 3. If drivers or their passengers are observed not wearing their seat belt, they will be fined $101 for an unbuckled driver, $91 for an unbuckled passenger and $106 for failure to use child restraints for children under the age of 8 or under 4 feet 9 inches, according to Ohio State Highway Patrolman Todd Carpenter.
“The number of fatalities from auto accidents is directly related to seatbelt use. We try to bump up our efforts of looking for this with the summer holidays coming,” said Carpenter. “We see quite a few people not wearing a seatbelt. It’s more than we’d like to see.”


