Seatbelt use on the rise

More Hawai’i residents have buckled up for safety this year than in 2000.

According to a study commissioned by the state Department of Transportation, seatbelt use, which had remained stable throughout the 1990s, has increased this year, going from 80 percent in 2000 to 82.5 percent in 2001.

Kaua’i, at 86.3 percent, has the highest percentage of belted-in motorists in the state.

Statewide, the dubious distinction of lowest rate of seatbelt use went to truckers, at between 72.2 percent during daytime hours to 74.9 percent at night.

The percentage of all Hawai’i drivers belting up is more than 11 points higher than the national average.

But while overall seatbelt use statewide has increased, except for truckers, there was some disturbing news in the state survey, as the overall compliance rate for infants and toddlers decreased from an already low 53 percent in 2000 to 43.2 percent in 2001.

The study also covered motorcycle and scooter riders and their use of helmets. Hawai’i has no mandatory helmet requirement for licensed motorcyclists. Without the law, bikers, a group notorious for their independence, are wearing their helmets at only a 36.5 percent rate, down from an already low 38.3 percent in 2000, officials reported.

Moped riders are evidently even less concerned about protecting their thought processes, as helmet use decreased from 9.9 percent in 2000 to 8.4 percent this year.

The study was performed by the University of Hawai’i-Manoa’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning. The survey team observed more than 50,000 vehicles at nearly 150 sites throughout the state, including Kaua’i, in January and February.

“The results of the surveys are encouraging, but we still have a long way to go to significantly reduce injuries and deaths on our highways,” said Brian Minaai, the state’s transportation director.

Hawai’i law requires all drivers and front-seat passengers 4 years old and up to use seatbelts. The law allows police officers to stop and cite motorists solely for seatbelt offenses.

In “secondary enforcement” jurisdictions, motorists must violate another statute before officers can also give them a seatbelt ticket.

More proof of Hawaii’s attempt to increase seatbelt use is directly linked to drivers’ pocketbooks. The Legislature last year raised the penalty for a simple seatbelt violation from $20 to $45.

Hawaii’s 82.5 percent seatbelt rate is higher than the national average of 71 percent, but is lower than the peak Hawai’i use year of 1991, when 85.3 percent of drivers buckled up.

Hawai’i passed a seatbelt law in December 1985. Seatbelt use that year, prior to the law’s passage, was a mere 33 percent, according to authorities.

In the recent study, Maui ranked last in belt use, with only 78.8 percent of its drivers and front-seat riders buckled up when observed by the UH team.

On Kaua’i, 87.4 percent of drivers and 83.2 percent of passengers were belted in.

According to the study, drivers on all the islands paid more attention to safety when the weather was bad. In sunny weather, seat belt use was at 82.3 percent. But on rainy days, the strapped-in number increased to 89.5 percent.

Speed also played a part in belt use. Drivers going along at under 35 miles an hour were belted up 79.4 percent of the time. But drivers observed going 55 or faster were buckled up at a rate of 88.1 percent.

The Hawai’i law does not make backseat belting mandatory. Combine that with the common teenage feeling of immortality, and researchers come up with the survey’s lowest compliance rate: Only 31.7 percent of youths riding in the backseat were restrained. That statistic was even lower on Kaua’i, where only 24.9 percent of teens in backseats were belted in when observed by the UH study team.

State and local officials are studying why the seatbelt compliance rate has hovered around 80 to 85 percent without changing significantly since the 1985 passage of the seatbelt law.

Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net