DANVILLE — Local law enforcement officials are expecting a relatively smooth transition for the new Illinois seat belt law.

Beginning Sunday, adult passengers riding in the backseat of a vehicle will be expected to wear a seat belt. It’s considered a primary offense, so police can pull over a vehicle in which they see a violation and the passenger will receive a fine of $25.

With a history going back just more than a quarter century, the Danville police and Vermilion County Sheriff’s Department see backseat passengers making the decision to buckle up relatively easily.

“I don’t think it will take as long a transition as the first seat belt law,” said Danville Department of Public Safety Director Larry Thomason.

“No ifs, ands or buts — it saves lives and protects everyone in the car,” he added.

It’s the latest chapter in the attempt to improve safety in Illinois vehicles, which began with the original seat belt law passed in 1985. Then, in 2003, a law was signed in that allowed police to pull over drivers not wearing a seat belt as a primary offense.

Capt. Dennis Wood of the sheriff’s department said he believes that with the long history of seat belt enforcement people won’t give the new law a second thought.

“I think it’s like anything else — people become accustomed to it,” he said. “I believe the seat belt law has been around long enough that it’s second nature to them to get in a car and put the seat belt on.

“We take seat belts and passenger safety very seriously,” Wood added.

For the average resident, noticing whether the driver of a moving vehicle is wearing a seat belt seems difficult. Trying to check out the status of the adults in the backseat of the vehicle only seems harder.

“It’s a little more difficult, but it will not be that great a problem,” Thomason said.

He said, by design, the harness anchor points of a seat belt as well as the shoulder strap in particular are visible to officers looking for the violation.

Difficult or not, rear seat belts are now the law in 2012

“It’s like anything else, if we see it, we’re going to enforce it,” Wood said.

The new rear seat belt law is not the only law police will be faced with enforcing beginning Sunday. Illinois will also become the latest state to ban synthetic marijuana in 2012.

Thomason said Danville police are still seeing the synthetic marijuana in various forms. But the law to ban the substance outright “will assist us greatly,” he added.

The law, however, isn’t intended simply to curb sales of the substance by local businesses. Thomason said the ban also pertains to individuals found to be carrying the synthetic marijuana, which is packaged under a variety of names.

“The ban makes it simple. It’s a possession charge,” he said.

Other new laws in 2012 include:

--School bus companies being given the right to require a driver to complete drug and alcohol testing if the driver is believed to be intoxicated. The testing must be completed before the driver can get behind the wheel of a school bus.

A driver who refuses the tests or who does not show zero tolerance for drugs or alcohol will have his school bus driver’s permit suspended for three years.

--A person convicted of domestic battery will no longer be able to obtain or keep a firearm owners identification card. In addition, a person with an order of protect issued against them will now be ordered to surrender their firearm owners identification card until the order is lifted.

--A public database will be kept listing people convicted for first-degree murder in Illinois. The database would list the convicted person for 10 years and feature information such as address, employment and photos.