Click-It-Or-Ticket Seat Belt Enforcement Begins May 23, 2011

By Wendy Osher

Click it or Ticket May 2011 Flyer.

The state Department of Transportation launches the latest edition of its “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign May 23 to June 5, 2011.

Hawai‘i’s seat belt laws require all front seat occupants, as well as back seat passengers 17 and under, to buckle up. Violators will be assessed a $92 fine.

During last year’s two-week Spring enforcement campaign, Maui police issued 504 seat belt citations, 27 child restraint citations, and 5 tickets to drivers who had juvenilles illegally riding in the bed of their trucks.  In addition to the seat belt violations, citations were also issued for expired safety check, delinquent tax stickers, driving without a valid drivers license, and no insurance.

The 2010 seatbelt compliance for Maui was 97.2 percent.  That was below the 98.21 compliance rate on Oahu, but ahead of the 96.7 rate on the Big Island, and the 96.65 rate on Kauai.

The child passenger restraint law requires children under 4 years of age to ride in a child safety seat, and children between the ages of 4 and 7 years to ride in either a child safety seat or a booster seat. Violators of this law are required to attend a four-hour class and may be assessed a fine of up to $500, depending upon the number of offenses.

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign combines the efforts of the state departments of Transportation, Health and Education; the four county police departments; the Federal Highway Administration; the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and safe community coalitions.