Stephanie Rivas is reporting for News10 [dot] com beginning November 1, the current state seat belt law will be expanded to require anyone over the age of 16 to buckle up wherever they are sitting in a vehicle. Currently, that requirement applies only to people riding in the front seat. Kurt Edwards, Chief of Trauma and Critical Care in the Department of Surgery at Albany Medical Center, believes the amended law could save lives. “I don’t get to see a lot of the people who weren’t wearing seat belts in the back because they never make it to my trauma center…because they die,” Edwards said. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts reduce the seriousness of crash-related injuries and deaths by almost half. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said there will be a grace period for tickets through his agency, but when enforcement does begin, the passenger who fails to wear the seat belt will be given the $50 ticket. Read more at news10 [dot] com.