Hundreds of lives could be saved next year if states had tougher seat-belt laws, according to a study by the National Safety Council, a private non-profit group.

The study uses federal highway data to conclude that fatal crashes could be reduced significantly if 30 states enacted tougher seat-belt laws. The laws would allow police to stop and ticket drivers who aren't wearing a seat belt.

Twenty states have such laws. An additional 29 states have less stringent laws that allow police to cite drivers for not using seat belts only if drivers are stopped for another violation. New Hampshire has no seat belt law.

Federal safety organizations, including the National Transportation Safety Board, have campaigned for the tougher law for years. The safety council study says 12,000 lives could have been saved in the past eight years if every state followed the NTSB’s recommendation, issued in 1995. The National Safety Council estimates that 1,400 lives could be saved in 2004.

Meanwhile, Annette Sandberg, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, reiterated the importance of wearing seat belts Nov. 14 at the Grain Valley, MO, headquarters of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

“We’re beginning to see a downward decline in truck-related crashes,” she said. Sandberg also urged all big rig drivers and motorists to wear a seat belt, which saves lives when a vehicle runs off the road or hits a stationary object.