185 Seat Belt Violations issued in Maui Click it or Ticket

By Wendy Osher

Click it or Ticket May 2011 Flyer.

Maui police issued a total of 185 seat belt citations during the latest Click it or Ticket campaign.  That’s an improvement from the 504 seat belt citations issued during the same period last year.  The 2011 two-week Spring enforcement campaign ran from May 23 to June 5.

In addition to seat belt citations, Maui police also issued 28 citations to motorists who were using a cell phone while driving; three arrests were made of drivers for operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol; and an additional 42 citations were issued for a variety of other reasons including license and regulatory violations, for a total of 255 citations.

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

As part of this year’s campaign, Maui police conducted two night-time operations during the enforcement period.  The enforcement details on Market Street in Wailuku, and on South Kihei Road, netted a total of 40 citations.  The numbers were included in the overall results released by the department.

In the Market Street detail, there were 15 seat belt, 10 electronic device, and 3 citations issued for other violations.   In the South Kihei Road detail, there were 5 seat belt, 5 electronic device, and 2 citations issued for other violations.

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.