LD 64 is a bill that would soften Maine’s existing seat belt law. The data on this public health success story is irrefutable — seat belts save scores of lives and they save millions of dollars in health care costs.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts saved more than 13,000 lives nationwide in 2008. In 2001, the National Safety Council revealed that the average in-patient costs for crash victims not wearing seat belts were 50 percent higher than for victims who were wearing seat belts during the accident. Recent research has also shown that unbelted occupants are more likely to be Medicaid patients.

Not everyone buckles up. In 2008, the National Occupant Protection Use Survey demonstrated that seat belt use continues to be lower among 16- to 24-year-olds than other age groups. It often takes a generation of reinforcing positive behavioral change to establish a new standard of cultural norm. Rolling back Maine’s seat belt law now sends an inconsistent message to Maine youth, for whom role modeling of good decision making is critical for our collective future.

A change in Maine law would not only be dangerous — it also would be more costly.

Lawmakers estimate that more than $1.35 million in revenue from fines would be lost. At a time when the budget gap is all-consuming, passing bad public policy that inflates the deficit is adding insult to injury.

Joel Kase, Lewiston