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HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT <br /> TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION <br /> SERGEANT RANDY K. APELE <br /> PHONE: 961-2305 <br /> JUNE 30, 2004 <br /> MEDIA RELEASE <br /> Hawaii County has the second highest rate of seat belt usage in the state, according to <br /> statistics compiled by the University of Hawaii during the "Click It or Ticket" seat belt <br /> enforcement campaign earlier this month. <br /> During the campaign, held May 24-June 26, the Big Island's seat belt usage rate was <br /> measured at 96.05 percent, second only to that of Maui County, which had 97.2 percent. <br /> In addition, the state had a seat belt usage rate of 95 percent, the first state in the nation to <br /> reach that percentage of seat belt use. <br /> The 96.05 percent rate for the Big Island included a 96.38 percent rate for drivers and a <br /> 96.03 percent rate for passengers. <br /> Commenting on the county's high rate of seat belt usage, Sergeant Randy Apele, head of <br /> the Traffic Services Section, said: "We in the Police Department want to congratulate the <br /> public for wisely choosing to use their seat belts. <br /> "National statistics have shown that the use of seat belts is the single most effective act <br /> that drivers can do to protect themselves in a traffic crash. Of the 85 persons who died in <br /> motor vehicle accidents last year in the state, about half of them were not wearing their <br /> seat belts." <br /> Hawaii's current seat belt law, which took effect in December 1985, requires the buckling <br /> up of all front-seat occupants as well as all back-seat passengers under the age of 18. In <br /> addition, Hawaii's child passenger restraint law requires children under four years of age <br /> to ride in a child safety seat in the back seat. Violators of the seat belt law face a fine of <br /> $77. Violators of Hawaii's Child Passenger Restraint Law are required to attend afour- <br /> hour class and may be assessed a fine ranging from $100 to $500, depending on the <br /> number of offenses. <br /> Apele said Big Island police will continue to conduct seat belt checkpoints island-wide to <br /> <br /> encourage the continued use of seat belts and child restraints. <br /> <br />