David Lombardo is reporting for the Times Union proposed legislation that would require adults to wear seat belts in the back seat of vehicles is heading for a vote May 15, in the state Senate. The companion legislation in the state Assembly reached the floor last month and is ready for a vote at any time. Under the existing law, passengers under the age of 16 sitting anywhere in a car must be buckled up or secured in a child restraint system. In 1985, New York became the first state in the country to require drivers and front-seat passengers to wear a seat belt. Anyone found in noncompliance faces a $50 fine for a first violation. However, once a leader in passenger protection, the state has fallen behind, according to a 2016 report from the American Automobile Association. More than 1,500 adults have died since 1985 in New York while not wearing a seat belt in the back of a vehicle, according to the AAA. Only 72 percent of respondents in a national 2017 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said they always strapped in when sitting in the back. Of the people who don't always buckle up in the rear of a car, 40 percent said it was because there was no law requiring a seat belt. Read the full story in the Times Union.