Click It or Ticket campaign remids drivers: Buckle up May 22 – June 4, and every day

Posted on May 23, 2023 in Highways Posts, Main, News

HONOLULU – The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation is urging drivers to buckle up during the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) national Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort. The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs from May 22 through June 4, 2023.

“We want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said Edwin H. Sniffen, Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Director. “It’s not just a safe thing to do — it’s the law. During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ll be working with our county law enforcement officers to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash. We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the loss of life. So often, it could have been prevented.”

Law enforcement agencies in all four counties will be stepping up enforcement activities during the Click It or Ticket mobilization period, taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement. Citations will be issued day and night.

In 2022, 40 percent (19 of the 48) vehicle occupants that died in Hawaiʻi, were not wearing seat belts. So far in 2023 (January 1 to May 10), 6 of the 14 motor vehicle occupants who died in a crash were reported as not wearing their seat belt.

Click it. Don’t risk it. Know Hawaiʻi’s Seat Belt Laws

Hawaiʻi’s universal seat belt law requires that all occupants regardless of age or seating position be properly restrained using a child safety seat or a seat belt. The fine for unrestrained occupants on Oahu, Hawaiʻi and Maui is $102, and the fine on Kauaʻi is $112. Drivers will receive one citation for every unrestrained occupant in the vehicle.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit NHTSA.gov/ciot.

For more information on child passenger safety seats and car seat checks, please visit www.kipcHawaiʻi.org.

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