TOPEKA, Kan. — Starting July 1, motorists caught not buckling their seat belts in the state will need to dig deeper into their wallet.

Traffic fines for seat-belt violations will rise from $10 to $30 that day thanks to a new law passed by the Kansas Legislature and signed into law in May by Gov. Sam Brownback.

The change in the law triples the fine for a person 18 years and older who is not wearing a seat belt in a passenger car that’s in motion. The new law directs $20 from each fine to the Seat Belt Safety Fund, which will fund an expansion of the student-driven “Seatbelts Are For Everyone (SAFE) program,” making it available to every high school in Kansas.

The positive impact of safety belt usage is significant. In 2016 in Kansas, 435 people died in motor vehicle crashes, making it one of the top 10 causes of unintentional death in Kansas and the number one killer of teens according to Triple A Kansas.

According to the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), more than seven out of 10 (71 percent), on average, of all people killed or seriously injured in Kansas crashes are unrestrained.