COLUMBIA, S.C. - A bill that would let police stop adult drivers for not wearing seat belts overcame its first challenge in the Senate as debate began Tuesday.

South Carolina law already allows police to stop minor drivers and cars carrying minors who aren't buckled up. But police need another reason to stop adults who are driving.

Proponents of the change say the state's current law makes it nearly impossible for police to make traffic stops for seat belt violations.

The legislation saves lives, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, said.

Opponents say the bill now before the Senate does too much to take away personal freedoms and too little to encourage people to wear seat belts.

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said the bill allows police to throw up "road blocks across South Carolina and stop people on the highways and check them to see whether or not they've got on a seat belt," McConnell said.

But Ryberg said current law prevents police from running "Click It or Ticket" stops around the state.

Police can get around that simply by calling their stops safety checks, McConnell said.

The debate is playing out under different circumstances and different rules on the Senate floor this year. Last year, the bill became bogged down in weeks of on-and-off filibustering as supporters blocked efforts to amend the legislation.

But amendments will be the weapon of choice for opponents this year.

For instance, McConnell spent nearly an hour talking about an amendment that would let juries consider whether a person was wearing a seat belt when accidents result in lawsuits.

McConnell argued that people should be held accountable in lawsuits if they don't abide by a law intended to protect them.

"Why shouldn't that question be before a jury if they have not taken the steps to protect themselves," McConnell said. "A jury just ought to know as to whether or not you contributed to your damages," McConnell said.

"You and I both know that this idea kills the bill," Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, said.

One time-tested strategy of killing legislation involves loading bills with amendments that cause supporters to think twice about voting for the final bill.

While McConnell's amendment failed on a 26-14 vote, opponents have other amendments in the works.

For instance, Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, wants the bill to carry a substantial fine, rather than the $25 maximum it now has. Knotts, who says he supports seat belt, also says hefty fines are needed to encourage more people to buckle up.

Supporters were headed in the opposite direction Tuesday. For instance, they won approval for an amendment that dropped the word "conviction" from the bill. The legislation already barred reporting seat belt violations on driving records or to insurers.