Of 12 people killed in car crashes on South Carolina roads since the state Senate called an informal truce in its seat-belt debate a week ago, 11 weren’t wearing seat belts.

The deaths took place in 11 counties, ranging from Cherokee to Beaufort, Berkeley to Dillon, according to the S.C. Department of Public Safety.

Today, the Senate might take up the seat-belt issue again.

A car-safety group official said Monday the blame for at least some of South Carolina’s dead falls on Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, and his small band of obstructionists.

For months, they have blocked efforts by a majority of senators who want to give police the power to issue a $25 ticket to adult motorists who don’t buckle up.

“It’s just sad, just depressing, and just needless,” said Tom Crosby, vice president of AAA Carolinas. “Their minority view is holding the state hostage for what seem to be high-minded principles, but which are costing people their lives.”

McConnell could not be reached for comment Monday. In Senate speeches, he has quoted the Founding Fathers and said he is defending personal freedoms and individual rights by filibustering against a strong seat-belt law.

But Crosby said plenty of laws already exist that restrict motorists’ rights, such as having to stop for a red light.

“Driving is a privilege,” he said.

Under South Carolina’s current weak seat-belt law, adult motorists can’t be ticketed for not buckling up unless police first see them break another law. Motorists 17 and younger can be cited for not wearing seat belts without police first seeing another offense.

Under the proposed seat-belt law, police would be able to ticket adult motorists without first spotting another offense.

Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, who supports a strong seat-belt law, said Monday he didn’t know if the filibuster would resume today.

McConnell, chairman of the Hunley Commission, will probably be attending events related to the Confederate submarine much of this week in Charleston, Hutto said. Some senators who support a strong seat-belt law also might be absent later in the week, he said.

Next week might be a better week to challenge the filibusters, Hutto said. “We’re not giving up.”

Two-thirds of the 46 senators have said they favor a strong seat-belt law. A strong seat-belt law already has passed the S.C. House. About 60 percent of South Carolinians favor a strong seat-belt law, according to a National Safety Council poll.

Meanwhile, South Carolina motorists without seat belts continue to die in droves, according to the Department of Public Safety.

Since Jan. 1, 173 people who didn’t use seat belts have died on S.C. roads. That’s 78 percent of that 220 fatalities in vehicles where occupants had access to seat belts.

Statistics show about half of unbuckled victims would still be alive if they had worn seat belts. Seat-belt usage in states that have a strong seat belt law is usually greater than 80 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

South Carolina’s seat-belt usage rate is 66 percent — one of the nation’s lowest. At the same time, the state has one of the nation’s highest traffic death rates.

Studies indicate that if South Carolina had a strong seat-belt law, 100 lives a year would be saved, 1,100 serious injuries prevented, and $140 million in medical expenses saved.