Hawai‘i Police Department
Traffic Services Section
Torey D. Keltner, Program Manager
Phone: (808) 961-2305
Media Release
As part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs September 15 -21, 2024, the Hawai‘i Police Department will conduct a variety of outreach events across the island this week. A program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), National Child Passenger Safety Week is a week-long awareness campaign held every September to highlight the importance proper child safety seat usage and seat belt laws to prevent serious injuries and fatalities to keiki during vehicle crashes.
Events happening this week include:
- Tuesday, Sept. 17, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m., sign waving in Hilo fronting Kanoelehua Avenue near the Walmart parking lot.
- Wednesday, Sept. 18, 9 a.m. – 12 noon, child safety seat booth at Na‘alehu Farmers Market (OKK Market), 95-5572 Māmalahoa Highway.
- Saturday, Sept. 21, 9 a.m. – 12 noon, child safety seat clinic at the Honda dealership in Kona, 75-5608 Kuakini Highway. Technicians will be on hand to assist families with the proper installation of child safety seats, check for any factory recalls on seats and vehicles, and answer questions the public might have.
HPD is teaming up with a variety of community and state organizations to offer these child safety seat clinics, including Partners for Safe Keiki, the East Hawai’i Kiwanis Club, Judiciary’s Driver Education program, the Department of Health Public Health Nursing and Special Services, Hilo Benioff Medical Center, and the State of Hawai‘i Department of Transportation.
“We’re excited to team up with our partner agencies for these events to highlight the critical role of properly installed child car safety seats,” said Torey Keltner, HPD’s Traffic Services program manager. “Our keiki are our future, and it’s our responsibility to ensure their safety.”
According to 2022 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the most recent year for available data, an average of three children under the age of 13 were killed and 429 were injured every day in the U.S. while riding in cars, SUVs, pickups, and vans. In 2022, 68 percent of the children who were injured in vehicle crashes were unstrained.
For more information on these events, please contact HPD’s Traffic Services Program at (808) 961-2226.
