On December 9, South Carolina police began enforcing the state's new primary seat belt law. One month later, the state is now on track to earn at least $2 million a year by pulling over motorists who forgot to wear a seatbelt or chose not to do so. Under the old law, police could only ticket motorists for seatbelts if they had already pulled them over for a separate offense. The change has resulted in a 38 percent increase in the number of tickets written.

Between December 9 and January 6, highway troopers issued 6712 tickets worth $25 each for a total of $167,800 in revenue. If police continue to issue tickets at the same rate, they will generate 87,500 citations a year from the new law.

Max Young, director of the Office of Highway Safety at the Department of Public Safety, said law enforcement in general "probably did give motorists a period to get familiar with the law and be a little more lenient than they are going to be in the future."