CLEVELAND — The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety report showed that Ohio received a "caution," or yellow, rating, which indicated that improvements can be made to the state's driving-related laws.

Pat Brown, a supervisor for the AAA driving school, said there are some areas that could be better.

What You Need To Know

  • A new report rated Ohio in the middle of the pack with road safety

  • Ohio was rated poorly in four of the six categories 

  • The report suggested the state implement new laws that could help solve the issues 

The report was broken down into six categories, and Ohio was given a "danger," or red rating in four of them. Those areas were protecting occupants inside vehicles, child passenger safety, impaired driving and training young drivers. Brown explained some of the laws that the report believes Ohio is missing.

“Ohio only requires 50 hours driving with a parent and eight hours driving with a driving instructor, where they want it to be 70 hours. Of course, anytime we can have more time in the car with a student before they get their license to drive is going to help,” he said.

The report suggested that the state should make laws that would make not wearing a seat belt a primary offense, a requirement for all motorcycle riders to wear a helmet and one that would insist anyone under 12 ride in the back seat. The report also explained that Ohio lags when it comes to restricting hours for teen driver.

The report also noted some of what Ohio does well, which included a "good," or green rating for distracted driving. Brown explained he believes new laws are needed, but it does not mean everyone would follow them.

“You’re never going to get 100% compliance, there’s always going to be people that don’t wear their seat belt, there’s always going to be people that drive that shouldn’t be,” he said. 

Related Stories