The law went into effect in December and statistics from the first six months show highway fatalities have decreased 14 percent over the same period in 2005.

"Seat belt compliance will save lives," said Lance Cpl. Bryan McDougald of the S.C. Highway Patrol. "More people are wearing them, and less are dying."

The law allows law enforcement officials to stop and cite drivers or passengers who fail to buckle up. Under the previous law, officials could only cite motorists for seat belt violations if they were stopped for other violations.

Those who choose not to buckle up can face a maximum fine of $25. No individual can be fined more than $50 for any one incident of more than one violation, according to the State Department of Public Safety.

Locally, there were 18 people killed in highway wrecks through last week, down from 54 at the same time last year, McDougald said.

Through Thursday, 409 people have died on state roads and interstates, according to the S.C. Department of Public Safety. That's down from 477 during the same time last year.

A wreck changes one life

Linda Sexton lives by at least one rule.

"My car does not move until the seat belts are buckled," said Sexton, 60. "That's protocol."

Sexton used to be a driver who didn't click her seat beat on a consistent basis -- until the Clover woman had what could have been a fatal wreck nearly 20 years ago.

As she traveled from Rock Hill's Winthrop University, a car slammed into the left side of the vehicle near the passenger-side back seat at the intersection of Five Points, a Clover intersection where travelers can merge from several routes.

"This other car hit and spun me around and around," recalled Sexton, a Clover municipal judge. "When it came to a stop, I just thought, 'I'm all in one piece.'

"There were three or four other people in the other vehicle, and they were fine -- no scratches, no anything," said Sexton, who noted the other driver and passengers wore seat belts.

Sexton, who didn't wear a seat belt, emerged with few scraps and minor bruises and a lesson that continues to impact her life today.

"It made a believer out of me," Sexton said about the accident.

The reality can be grim, McDougald said.

McDougald said all five highway fatalities in York County so far this year involved victims who weren't restrained.

"The majority of those victims were ejected from their vehicles," he said.

David Chambers, York County chief deputy coroner, said nearly 50 percent of car accidents happen within a five-mile radius of the victim's home. Clicking seat belts could make the difference between life and death, he said.

"People think, 'I'm just going five miles to the store. I'll be OK,'" Chambers said.

But, he said, drivers and passengers alike suffer head injuries. Some are partially ejected. Others are thrown from vehicles.

"It's just a waste of (a) life," Chambers said of a death from not wearing a seat belt. "It's a careless act."

Citations across the county

York County officials have issued more than 200 citations to motorists and passengers who didn't buckle their seat belts since a new seat belt law was enacted in December. Here's a breakdown of citations issued across the county: · The Rock Hill Police Department issued 818 seat belt violations from Dec. 9, 2005, through June 6. Of those, 39 people younger than 18 were cited. Another 134 cited were 18 or 19 years old. · The York Police Department issued 188 citations from Dec. 9, 2005, through June 6. · Officials with the Fort Mill Police Department have issued 102 seat belt citations since Dec. 9, 2005. Of those, 18 were issued to teens. · The Clover Police Department has issued 83 citations since the new law went into effect. · The number of citations issued by the Tega Cay Police Department could not be confirmed.