Safety Group Says Ohio Should Require Seat Belt Use For Rear Seat Passengers

A highway safety group says more than 800 rear-seat passengers who weren’t wearing seat belts died last year in U.S. traffic crashes, showing that states arent making enough progress in getting people to buckle up.

The Governors Highway Safety Association says more than 400 of the 803 people who died would have survived if they were wearing seat belts.

The association put out a report in 2015 drawing attention to rear seat-belt use.

It says only two more states enacted rear seat belt laws since then.

20 states, including Ohio, still don’t have laws requiring rear belt use.

The federal government is seeking public comment on a rule requiring automakers to warn drivers if rear passengers aren’t belted in.