Seat belts. For the vast majority of us, putting on a seat belt when entering the car is second nature.

But for some, unfortunately, the act remains optional — and that’s leading to fatal results.

In Ohio over the Fourth of July weekend, 10 people died in car crashes, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Of those 10 fatalities, six were not wearing seat belts.

The issue goes deeper. According to the Columbus Dispatch, during the Fourth of July weekend troopers issued 2,286 seat belt and child safety seat violations. How is that possible in 2025?

The problem is not isolated to Ohio. In West Virginia, the latest figures for seat belt use come from the end of 2024, where a 91.98% usage rate was recorded by the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program. That means 8% of West Virginians — that’s more than 100,000 people — don’t wear seat belts on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a tragic 190 children were killed in 2022 in motor vehicle accidents during which they were unrestrained or improperly restrained.

This isn’t just about a driver’s responsibility to buckle up for their own safety. It’s about their duty to ensure others in the vehicle — especially children — are as safe as possible, too.

Decades of data is available showing seat belts save lives. In this day and age, why is it still being ignored?

Buckle up, folks. It’s really simple. It saves lives.