The chairman of the state House Transportation Committee today said he will introduce legislation to make failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense. At present, motorists can be cited for seat belt violations only if stopped for another violation.

"Wearing a seat belt should be second nature to all motorists," said Rep. Joe Markosek, D-Monroeville. "My bill would make it clear that it's not OK to forgo wearing a seat belt just because you didn't get caught making an additional violation.

"Stubbornness or arguments that this would infringe on personal rights cannot negate proven statistics. Wearing a seat belt drastically increases your odds of surviving a vehicular accident."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the failure to buckle up contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior.

Mr. Markosek said Pennsylvania has a financial incentive to establish failure to wear a safety belt as a primary offense, because of provisions in the most recent federal transportation authorization law, known as SAFETEA-LU. Pennsylvania would be eligible for up to $6.3 million in highway funding if the legislation is signed by the governor by June 30 and if law enforcement officers begin issuing citations by Sept. 30, he said.