A proposal to end the days of seat-belt-free driving in New Hampshire will likely face considerable opposition in the Senate. At least two Democratic senators oppose the measure, which would require adult drivers and passengers to buckle up. Many Senate Republicans also oppose the bill. New Hampshire is the only state without a mandatory seat belt law for adults.

"I'm not sure that they have the votes to pass this," said Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, a Manchester Democrat who opposes the bill. "It's another mandate that I think is against the libertarian philosophy of New Hampshire."

Sen. Betsi DeVries, a Democrat from Manchester, also said yesterday that she opposes the bill.

"There are a great many senators who are not voting for this bill," said Sen. Bob Clegg, a Hudson Republican. Clegg likened the proposal to a "nanny"-state measure, adding that "a lot of senators don't believe that we need it."

Last month, the Democratic-controlled House passed the proposal by a 13-vote margin, as lawmakers heralded mandatory seat belts as a way to reduce injuries and lower health care costs. But opponents - who tout the state's "Live Free or Die" motto - denounced the proposal as an intrusion on personal freedom. If the Senate passes the bill, mandatory seat belts will be the legacy of this legislative session, opponents of the measure warned yesterday at a Senate committee hearing on the proposal.

"This is a bill that people are going to feel impacts their lives before they even get out of their own driveways," said Rep. Andy Peterson, a Peterborough Republican. "There will be strong feelings about that, and there will be definitely an impression that this Legislature and its makeup have a different view towards this."

Gov. John Lynch, meanwhile, hasn't said whether he supports the proposal.

"The governor is continuing to talk with lawmakers about the issue," said Lynch spokesman Colin Manning.

If opponents called the bill an unnecessary regulation, the proposal's supporters said that reducing deaths and injuries more than made up for the loss in personal freedom. Failing to buckle up imperils other drivers and drives up the cost of health care, some said. Driving a car, they added, is a privilege, not a right.

"I am not doing this because I think I know what's best for anybody else," said Sen. Maggie Hassan, an Exeter Democrat who co-sponsored the seat-belt bill. "But I do know what's best for me, as a seat-belt user, for my family members, as seat-belt users, for my constituents, who've asked me to support this bill."

Health workers and law enforcement and transportation officials - including Safety Commissioner John Barthelmes and Transportation Commissioner Charles O'Leary - lined up in support of the bill.

"Voluntary seat-belt use is not working," Barthelmes said. "Seat-belt use, in my opinion, is the most effective low-cost measure for preventing deaths and injuries in crashes on the highways of our state."

New Hampshire has the lowest level of seat-belt use in the nation, with 64 percent of drivers choosing to buckle up, according to the House Transportation Committee.

Debbie Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, reeled off a litany of grisly statistics about the risks of not buckling up. Ninety percent of fatalities that take place on the nation's transportation system occur on highways, she said. Three-quarters of people who are ejected from their vehicles are killed. Highway fatalities are the leading cause of death for toddlers through 34-year-olds.

The safety board is an independent federal agency required by Congress to investigate transportation accidents.

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