AUGUSTA – Traffic accidents and deaths could be prevented by requiring drivers to have their headlights on during the day, a legislative panel was told Thursday.

A bill before the Transportation Committee would impose a $25 fine for failing to turn on headlights during the day. It would apply to people driving vehicles made after 2010, and could be enforced only when a driver is stopped for another violation. The measure wouldn’t apply to hybrids.

The sponsor, Rep. Jane Knapp, R-Gorham, drew a distinction between running lights, which come on automatically on some vehicles, and headlights, saying the latter are more readily seen on the highways.

Knapp introduced the bill at the request of Phyllis and David Kent of Gorham, who were prompted by a fatality in central Maine that they said could have been prevented with headlight use.

“All of the dark colors (of vehicles) blend in with the highway,” Phyllis Kent told the committee. After her request was publicized by a TV station, Kent said, she got phone calls from across the state.

“All the callers expressed their hope that this bill will pass because of safety for everyone,” she said.

Maine law already requires headlights during rain and at night. Knapp said daytime running lights are required in Canada and some European countries.

North Dakota considered a bill to require daytime headlight use in 2009. An opponent called it an employment act for service stations, predicting it would lead to many dead car batteries. The bill was rejected.

The Maine bill was opposed Thursday by the Maine Motorcycle Political Action Committee, which says the law should continue to apply only to bikers, who need an extra margin of protection on the highway. Motorcyclists have been required since the 1970s to use their headlights at all hours.

A bill that drew stronger opposition Thursday, also sponsored by Knapp, would require that vehicles traveling faster than 40 mph be clear of ice or frozen snow. The bill calls for a $250 fine for a first offense and $500 for a second or subsequent offense.

Knapp said there are similar laws in at least four other states, including New Hampshire, where a young girl was killed by frozen debris flying from another vehicle. Some states have the requirement only on high-speed highways.

While commending the intent, committee members and others questioned the practicality of the law.

“This is so nebulous,” said Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, and it would place “a tremendous burden” on drivers.

That’s especially true for tractor-trailer operators, said Lt. Brian Scott of the Maine State Police. A truck driver passing through the state after a storm would have to stop driving if there were no way to remove snow or ice from the top of the trailer, he said.

“The issue has been deliberated in this Legislature previously,” said Tim Doyle of the Maine Motor Transport Association. He said that removing snow and ice from big trucks “is not easy, is not safe and sometimes not even possible.”

Knapp encouraged the committee to make changes in the bill to make it more practical, saying “one death is too many.”