Car safety-seat use declines in Hawai'i

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The use of car safety seats for infants and toddlers dropped significantly this year over last year even though Hawai'i's overall use of seat belts increased slightly.

Eighty-two and a half percent of adults used their seat belts, up from 80 percent. But use of car safety seats for infants and toddlers fell from 53 percent to 43.2 percent.

Honolulu Police Maj. Jeffrey Owens, commander of the department's Traffic Division, said "any increase in seat belt usage is a good thing."

However, he added, "As for child car seats, adults are capable of making their own decision on using seat belts, but young children don't have that option."

The results also showed that truck occupants used seat belts less than any other of the observed groups.

The state Department of Transportation report also found that this year over last year:

• Fewer motorcyclists used helmets, 36.5 compared with 38.3 percent.

• Helmet use among moped riders decreased slightly from 9.9 percent to 8.4 percent. Helmet use by bicyclists increased from 22.2 percent to 25.4 percent.

• That 115 of the 7,199 observed pickup trucks (1.6 percent) had occupants in the cargo area, compared with the 77 trucks (0.81 percent) observed in 2000.

Additionally, 15 (0.21 percent) of the observed trucks had children in the bed, while 19 (0.26 percent) had occupants in the cargo area and a single operator in the cab.

The DOT study was conducted by the University of Hawai'i's Department of Urban and Regional Planning, which observed more than 50,000 vehicles in January and February.