Gov. Mark Sanford sided with common sense this week in letting new legislation to encourage seat belt use become law.

That is to his credit, because Sanford has been clear from the outset that he has both philosophical and practical objections to a law that enables primary enforcement of existing state law mandating the use of seat belts.

Sanford raises good points, and we encourage you to read the two-page letter the governor wrote on the topic by clicking on this file in the Opinion section of islandpacket.com.

But, in the end, when all the dancing has been done on the head of the pin, this long-running battle on seat belt use in South Carolina boils down to something very simple, and very stark. It boils down to life and death. Buckling up saves lives. The state acknowledged that in 1989 by enacting a law making it mandatory to wear seat belts. But the state somehow sought solace from that "invasion of privacy" by latching onto the contorted thinking that the law should not be readily enforced against adults. A law enforcement officer could see an adult not using a seat belt, but could not enforce the law unless he or she pulled the offender over for another reason. The new law ends that, allowing for "primary enforcement" of the seat belt law.

Sanford sided with common sense by allowing the legislature to end this pained logic, or lack of logic. He concluded that, when all is said and done, there is no other state law that comes with the caveat that it cannot be enforced by a law enforcement officer.

So it is done. At long last, South Carolina has primary enforcement of the seat belt law.

When it comes to seat belts, no longer will this state know it could have done more to save a life, but refused.

Sanford argues that there are lots of dangerous, stupid things the public can do to endanger their lives, but the state does not make them illegal. Smoking and eating the wrong foods are two examples. He believes, as many other South Carolinians have through the years, that the government should not be intrusive in personal freedoms. The public should be allowed to make its own choices, even if it kills them. With that logic, there would be no speed limits. State and federal statutes are full of government action to keep people from killing and endangering themselves and others.

Sanford is right to say the new law is terribly flawed. It sets a fine at $25, while the governor notes that a bill arrived on his desk last week setting a $5,000 fine for illegally dispensing contact lenses. But the more serious flaw is that it specifically prohibits seat belt usage as evidence in court. Sanford believes that alone would produce the results the legislature wants.

But all legislation is flawed. It is all the result of committees and group input. It all contains compromises.

The bottom line is that 600 people who weren't wearing seat belts died in South Carolina crashes last year. Many of them would be alive if the state had a primary enforcement seat belt law, experts say.

What's so complicated about that? It's very simple. We as a society can do better than that. Be thankful that the legislature and governor finally are willing to try to do better.