AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine motorists will have to be more careful about buckling up in their seat belts if a bill that’s received initial legislative approval becomes law.

By a 20-14 vote Thursday, the Senate gave initial approval to a bill to make nonuse of seat belts a primary offense. The bill faces further Senate consideration before it goes to the House.

Maine’s present law prohibits enforcement of the seat belt law unless the driver has been stopped for violation of another law.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Christine Savage, R-Union, would change the law from a secondary to a primary offense. It would allow a police officer to detain and cite a driver or passenger 18 or older solely for failing to wear a seat belt.

Seat belts and child safety seats are now mandatory and a primary offense for persons under 18 in Maine.

In Maine, the Bureau of Highway Safety last fall reported that 77.2 percent of motorists used their seat belts.

the highest level since the state began surveying motorists two decades ago.

While seat belt use appears to be increasing in Maine and the rest of the country, police and highway safety advocates continue to encourage more motorists to buckle up.

Last year’s figure was higher than 75.8 percent recorded in 2005, and a sharp increase over the 23 percent recorded during the first survey in 1986.

Nationally, seat belt use is reaching record levels, but highway safety officials said last year that 48 million people still were not regularly buckling up when they were on the road.

The government has been pushing for more states to enact primary enforcement laws. As of last year, half of the states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had adopted primary enforcement laws like the one Maine is now considering.

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