FRANKFORT — When Gov. Paul Patton delivered his State of the Commonwealth address Jan. 10, he acknowledged making a mistake in his past opposition to tougher seat belt laws.

        “I have to admit that I was wrong,” Mr. Patton told a joint session of the Kentucky General Assembly and a statewide television audience.

        “I don't intend to be wrong this time,” said the governor, pledging his support for legislation that would give police more authority to ticket motorists not wearing seat belts.

        Despite that endorsement from Mr. Patton, the bill appears to be suffering from lack of support among state lawmakers.

        “There are some concerns about the bill,” said Rep. Hubie Collins, D-Wittensville, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, where the bill is filed.

        “I expect it to pass out of committee in the next week or so, but it may have problems on the House floor,” he said.

        State law requires people to wear seat belts, but law enforcement officers cannot stop motorists and cite them for not wearing them unless there is another traffic violation.

        For several years, some lawmakers have tried to make lack of seat belt use a primary offense, meaning an officer could stop a vehicle and cite the motorist solely for failing to wear a seat belt.

        Rep. Jody Haydon, D-Bardstown, is sponsoring the bill, which would not increase the current fine of $25. After court costs and other fees the ticket usually costs about $85.

        Mr. Haydon said he realizes opposition exists, and he is willing to compromise to get the bill passed.

        Most of the opposition seems to stem from lawmakers' concerns about government infringing on the individual rights of motorists.

        “I don't think it is the government's responsibility to take care of my personal decisions,” said Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Erlanger, the chairman of the 13-member Northern Kentucky Legislative Caucus.

        Sen. Ernie Harris, R-Crestwood, who opposes the law, pointed to a few years ago when the legislature passed a law allowing motorcyclists to ride without a helmet.

        “I look at this the same way,” said Mr. Harris, who represents Grant and Gallatin counties. “If we pass this law, which I don't think is going to happen, it would be an intrusion on people's ability to make decisions for themselves.”

        There is support for the bill in the law enforcement community, including from the Kentucky State Police.

        “We support the primary seat belt law because it is going to save lives,” said Lt. Lisa Rudzinski, commander of public affairs for the state police.

        An estimated 62 percent of Kentucky drivers use seat belts now, Lt. Rudzinski said. Passing the primary offense law would increase that by about 15 percent, she said.

        Sixty-five percent of the fatalities on Kentucky highways last year were people not wearing seat belts, according to the state police.

        Statewide last year police wrote 87,286 citations for seat belt violations, according to the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. That includes 1,187 citations in Boone County, 798 in Campbell County and 2,638 in Kenton County.

        Kenton County Police Chief Bill Dorsey said there was a time when he would have been against such a law.

        “But I've seen the survivor rate that comes from wearing seat belts,” Chief Dorsey said. “I've looked at several accidents in recent years where people wearing seat belts walked away, and those not wearing seat belts didn't.”

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