Police issue 800 seat-belt tickets statewide
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Police have issued more than 800 seat-belt citations statewide since the start of the "Click It or Ticket" safety campaign despite a $350,000 state advertising campaign about seat-belt safety launched a little more than a week ago.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
The numbers will increase once the Honolulu Police Department compiles its complete list of citations at the end of the week. Statistics were made available yesterday from the Big Island, Kaua'i and Maui police departments.
Honolulu Police Department officer Dayle Morita cites a motorist for a seat-belt violation on Bethel Street in downtown Honolulu. The "Click It or Ticket" campaign aims at getting more people to buckle up.
"The parents should set the example for a child," Lt. Stanton Koizumi of the Kaua'i Police Department said. "I get to see all these tragedies. I lost a niece because she wasn't wearing a seat belt. I'm an advocate for seat-belt use."
Seat-belt violators must pay $67 for the fine. Also, children under 4 must be strapped into a child passenger safety seat. First-time offenders must pay a fine up to $100, and the driver must pay an additional $57 to attend a four-hour safety class.
On the Big Island, police issued 308 seat-belt citations from May 16 to May 18. On Kaua'i, police issued 44 seat-belt citations on Monday and Tuesday. On Maui, police have issued more than 400 seat-belt citations since May 14. On O'ahu, police issued more than 50 seat-belt citations in downtown on Monday.
Hawai'i's seat-belt use rate is 83.5 percent, while California leads the nation with 91 percent usage. Kaua'i County leads the state with 87.6 percent usage followed by Hawai'i County at 86.4 percent, Honolulu at 83.6 percent and Maui at 77.6 percent.
• Buckle up: Under state law, anyone in the front seat and those under 18 years of age in the back seat need to wear a seat belt. The penalty for each seat-belt violation is $67. That increases to $92 if the payment is late. • Children: Also, the law states that children under 4 must be strapped into a child passenger safety seat. First-time offenders must pay a fine up to $100, and the driver must pay an additional $57 to attend a four-hour safety class.
Lt. Charles Hirata of the Maui Police Department said he wants to improve Maui's seat-belt use rate and said his department has planned a joint seat-belt crackdown with Haleakala National Park officials this weekend inside the park.
It's the law
"We're everywhere," Hirata said. "We have increased enforcement for several months already."
The county police departments have received federal grants totaling more than $250,000 for the enforcement effort.
The grant applications for the departments say the police expect to issue more than 9,600 seat-belt and child-seat violations during the campaign.
HPD's grant application states that police expect to issue 6,257 tickets for seat-belt and child-restraint violations and 219 tickets for other offenses, and that those numbers will be used to evaluate the success of the $100,000 federal grant.
Honolulu Police Department Traffic Division Capt. Jose Gaytan said police will enforce the seat-belt law 24 hours a day. He said officers on overtime paid by the federal grant will work during the day, and all other officers will enforce the law throughout the day along with their other duties.
Gaytan declined to provide the enforcement locations.
"We want everyone to comply, not just specific people going through these locations," Gaytan said.
Gaytan said police are positioned at intersections or roadways with one officer watching for seat-belt violations. Officers positioned ahead will flag down the violator, direct the motorist away from traffic, and issue a citation, he said.
"We hope through the first three or four days through active enforcement, maybe (citations) will come down to lower enforcement because people are complying," Gaytan said. "That's our main goal."
The program runs through June 6.
CORRECTION: Honolulu police officer Dayle Morita is shown ticketing a motorist in the photo accompanying this story. An earlier version of the photo caption misidentified him.
