HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION
SERGEANT RANDY K. APELE
PHONE: 961-2305
NOVEMBER 12, 2003
MEDIA RELEASE
Mayor Harry Kim has declared the two-week period from November 17 to November 30, 2003, as a “National Click It or Ticket Campaign.”
In conjunction with the mayor’s proclamation, the Hawaii County Police Department will join more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies in the national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization.
“Failure to wear a seat belt is against the law,” said Sergeant Leroy Victorino of the Hawaii County Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit. “We enforce this law because it’s the best way to save lives. If you won’t buckle up to save your life, then buckle up to save yourself a ticket.
“The only proven way to get significant increases in belt use among young people and ultimately save lives is through high visibility enforcement,” Victorino said. “Teens and young adults are killed at far higher rates in crashes because they are caught in a lethal intersection of inexperience, risk taking and low seat belt use. These tragedies are predictable and therefore preventable using proven techniques like high visibility enforcement mobilizations.”
During the national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization, officers will intensify enforcement of seat belt laws by setting up seat belt checkpoints. Drivers failing to restrain themselves and their child passengers will be ticketed and are subject to a $77 fine.
“Enforcement gets people to buckle up,” Victorino said. “For many non-seat belt users, and especially young people, the threat of a ticket has proved to be a greater inducement to buckle up than the threat of injury or death.
“We want to reach those least likely to buckle up and most at-risk to die or suffer injury,” he said.
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