Print edition: 
A record number of drivers buckled up in Kansas this year, but seat-belt use didn't climb as much as expected under a new, tougher law on belts.
Eighty-three percent of Kansas drivers now wear seat belts, according to a new survey released Thursday.
That is a 1 percentage-point increase from last year, when the Kansas Legislature started allowing police to ticket drivers solely for not wearing a belt. Ten years ago, only 60 percent of drivers were belted.
However, when Kansas passed the so-called primary seat-belt law, federal safety officials said the state could expect roughly a 9-point increase.
National traffic safety experts, however, said any increase saves lives.
"I wouldn't have expected to see a huge bump right away," said Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association.
"You want to have a sustained period of high, visible enforcement" to get the full benefit of the new law, he said.
Another factor working against Kansas is its very low $10 fine, which the Legislature wanted as a compromise for passing the tougher law. Experts have said that raising fines to $60 could get a 3 to 4 percentage-point jump in compliance.
While some cities initially used their home-rule power to levy bigger fines, many local governments across the state were still collecting a $5 fine, which later went to $10. The state later ordered cities to charge no more than $10.
Kansas transportation officials said they always would like to see higher belt use. But they credited publicity about the new law to a 5 percentage-point increase last year. The 2010 study was done about the same time the new law started.
"You have to have the awareness and the enforcement combined," said Pete Bodyk, traffic safety chief for the Kansas transportation department.
The latest figure still shows Kansas gaining ground over the years. In 2007, Kansas ranked 47th in seat-belt use. In 2010, it was 36th. Rankings are not available for 2011. The national seat-belt average is 85 percent.
