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(AP) -- ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Sonny Perdue is preparing to sign legislation requiring adults riding in pickup trucks to wear seat belts.

Perdue is scheduled to go to Dalton, Ga., to sign the measure Thursday afternoon.

The legislation had been blocked by state House leaders until this year when Speaker David Ralston allowed it to come to a vote.

The National Highway Safety Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation have estimated changing the law will save 21 lives and prevent 300 injuries each year. Supporters estimate it could save $30 million in hospital costs each year.

Georgia already requires minors to wear seat belts and adults to wear them in all vehicles except pickups.

UPDATE:
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia has joined the rest of the nation in requiring adults in pickup trucks to wear seat belts.

Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday signed legislation removing the truck exemption from the state's seat belt law.

Georgia had been the last state in the nation to specifically exempt adults in pickups from the requirement to buckle up.

The governor was joined at the bill signing in north Georgia by the legislation's sponsor, state Sen. Don Thomas, a Republican from Dalton.

Public safety advocates had long been trying to get rid of the exemption, but their efforts were stymied each time by rural lawmakers who called the rule and unnecessary regulation.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)