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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, June 25, 2003

Record seat-belt use may win federal aid

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Seat-belt use in Hawai'i jumped to an all-time high of nearly 92 percent during the recent Click It or Ticket campaign — a level that could mean millions of extra federal dollars for the state.

Numbers released yesterday show that 91.8 percent of drivers and passengers observed during the last week of the program in May were using seat belts. Last year's statewide rate during the campaign was 90.4 percent.

The high figures mean the state could qualify for at least $1 million in additional federal highway safety money in each of the next six years, said Transportation Director Rod Haraga.

The extra federal money, contained in a Bush administration proposal, is to be used for traffic safety projects, Haraga said. Hitting 90 percent compliance gives the state favorable consideration for additional money from the National Highway Traffic Safety administration, he said.

Nationwide figures are not available for this year, but the state is expected to rank in the top five for seat-belt use, officials said. Last year, only California and Washington had a higher rate.

Emiri Kawasaki, 27, of Mililani, said she always wears her seat belt. The elementary school teacher said she was in a collision in the first grade. She was buckled up and not hurt, but an unbelted occupant of the other car had serious injuries.

"That kind of stuck with me, so when I started driving, it just became a habit," Kawasaki said.

Wahiawa resident Calvin Thompkins, 25, who is in the Army, admits he does not always use his seat belt, "like when I'm just driving around the block." But he knows it is the law and wears it "most of the time ... like on the freeway or rolling downtown."

The May survey was conducted by a team of University of Hawai'i researchers who watched traffic at 136 sites, including freeways, highways and local roads, and recorded data on hand-held computers. They observed more than 56,000 drivers and passengers. Seat-belt use was broken down by factors including type of vehicle, time of day, weather and road conditions.

While differences were often slight, the figures show that people riding in a van or sport-utility vehicle and traveling more than 45 mph on a three- or four-lane road were most likely to be buckled up.

Those going less than 34 mph on smaller roads were less likely to be using seat belts.

Honolulu had the highest rate of compliance, 92.3 percent. Kaua'i, the only county to show a decline this year, had the lowest rate, 89.8 percent. Maui showed the most dramatic increase, with seat-belt compliance rising from 77.6 percent in early 2002 to 91.3 percent in the most recent survey.

"We want to thank everyone in making this year even more successful than last year," Haraga said.

The figures suggest awareness of seat-belt use rose substantially during the Click It or Ticket program, highly visible police efforts to crack down on violators and a nationwide advertising campaign.

A similar survey taken in the months before this year's Click It or Ticket found seat-belt use statewide at 88.8 percent. Compliance rose almost 4 percent during the program, when police issued an average of 257 tickets a day.

In all, police issued 3,598 tickets for seat-belt violations from May 19 to June 1, down almost 24 percent from the previous year and another indication more people were complying with the law, officials said.

Until last year, seat-belt use in Hawai'i had been declining since 1991. State law requires all drivers and front-seat passengers 4 years of age and older to use seat belts. Drivers and unbelted front-seat occupants 15 years and older can be ticketed and charged a $45 penalty plus a $22 judicial assessment.

Advertiser staff writer Zenaida Serrano Espanol contributed to this report.