The state’s new, stronger seat-belt law could create a ticket-writing heaven for Lexington patrolman Rick Hazewinkel and other traffic officers.

“If you really wanted to, you could find a seat-belt violation in almost every vehicle.”

But he doesn’t anticipate writing any more $25 citations when the law takes effect in six months than he has in recent months.

Officers at Midlands law enforcement agencies said Thursday they support the new law, but they agreed it wouldn’t make their jobs harder.

It also won’t require new training, according to Sid Gaulden, state department of public safety spokesman. Officers already know to stop vehicles if people 17 and younger aren’t buckled up. And they could ticket others if they stopped a vehicle for another reason.

The new law does allow officers to stop drivers solely because they are not wearing seat belts.

“There’s no great training that goes into implementing the new law,” he said.

And in towns like Lexington, going after seat-belt scofflaws in particular wouldn’t be practical. Lexington Chief of Police Stace Day said traffic is too congested for officers to weave through it checking for violations.

“Traffic in Lexington is hard to get around in itself,” he said. “It’s hard enough to use radar guns. I don’t see a huge spike in the way we enforce seat belts.”

The law could change officers’ lives in small ways. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said police plan to emphasize seat-belt education during community meetings.

But he doesn’t foresee an increase in the amount of tickets written, nor does he believe there will be a strong backlash from drivers who don’t agree with law.

“There’s always going to be someone that doesn’t want to comply with the law,” he said.

Reach Lopez at (803) 771-8597 or jrlopez@thestate.com.