You could get pulled over for not wearing a seat belt in Ohio if new bill becomes law

Ohioans could be pulled over for not wearing a seat belt under a proposed law backed by the governor.

State Rep. Jon Cross, R-Findlay, has introduced a bill to make not wearing a seat belt a primary offense, meaning police can stop a vehicle if they see it.

Officers must stop a vehicle for another violation before citing a seat belt violation, under current Ohio law.

Gov. Mike DeWine called for a primary seat belt law in his State of the State address on April 10. DeWine said Ohio ranks 40th in the country in seat belt use and while the national average of seat belt use is 91%, Ohio's average is 81%.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that primary seat belt laws led to higher rates of use and fewer crash deaths than secondary laws.

The Ohio State Patrol found that 61% of people who died in a crash in Ohio were not wearing a seat belt.

Cross will hold a press conference on the bill with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Ohio Department of Public Safety at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

This story will be updated.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio's seat belt use below national average. Will the law change?