'Click It' ticketing down 24 percent
| • | Chart: Seat-belt citations |
By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer
Police issued 24 percent fewer seat-belt citations during the recent Click It or Ticket campaign than during last summer's effort, according to figures released yesterday.
Statewide, an average of 257 drivers a day were ticketed in this year's two-week campaign to coax them and their passengers to buckle up. The 2002 program tagged 338 drivers a day.
"It's very good news," said Scott Ishikawa, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation. "People are wearing their seat belts. We are happy the tickets are down, but we're particularly happy that child safety seat violations are also down."
Police issued 3,598 tickets for seat-belt violations across the state during the recent campaign from May 19 to June 1. Last year 4,734 tickets were issued from May 20 to June 2.
During the campaign, police stepped up enforcement of the state's mandatory seat-belt law, stopping motorists on the move and at special roadblocks.
Seat-belt use is mandatory in Hawai'i for drivers, all front-seat passengers and rear-seat passengers younger than 18.
Police collect $77 for each ticket, with $45 going to the state general fund, $15 toward administrative expenses, $7 to driver education programs and $10 to the neurotrauma special fund. Statewide collections from seat-belt violations could total as much as $277,046, Ishikawa said.
The nationwide program also targets those who fail to buckle children under age 4 in child safety seats. Citations for that offense cost between $100 and $500, depending on any history of prior violations.
Sixty drivers were issued child safety seat citations, as opposed to 169 drivers last year.
The trend toward buckling up was reflected throughout the Islands, Ishikawa said.
Roadblocks were posted at 124 locations throughout O'ahu, said Sgt. Robert Long, who headed up the Click It or Ticket program for the Honolulu Police Department.
"We did much better than expected," Long said.
Last year 85 people died in auto crashes in Hawai'i. Fifty-seven of them weren't wearing seat belts. Seat belts save lives about 50 percent of the time in a serious crash, Long said.
That's one of the reasons federal, state and county officials support the annual Click It or Ticket safety program. This is the second year in which officials are trying to make the public more aware of the law to buckle up, Long said.
Long said last year's heavy advertising campaign was partly responsible for the positive results.
By county, seat-belt citations were down 6 percent on O'ahu, 27 percent on the Big Island, 30 percent on Maui and 71 percent on Kaua'i.
Child safety seat violations were down 53 percent on O'ahu, 20 percent on the Big Island, 97 percent on Maui and 82 percent on Kaua'i.
Last year the federal government launched a series of television advertisements aimed at the worst group of seat-belt offenders — men between the ages of 18 and 34. The ads appeared on TV networks most likely to be watched by young men, including ESPN and the WB, Ishikawa said.
Although Hawai'i has one of the highest rates of seat-belt compliance in the nation, there's still room for improvement, Ishikawa said.
According to a survey conducted last year by University of Hawai'i researchers, seat-belt use in Hawai'i was lowest among those riding in trucks, in light traffic or at a shopping center at comparatively slow speeds and at night, he said.
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