Police Remind Motorists to Buckle Up 04-12-01

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION
SERGEANT RANDY APELE
PHONE: 961-2305
APRIL 12, 2001

MEDIA RELEASE

Big Island police are reminding motorists to buckle up with seatbelts.

All front seat passengers must use their seatbelts, said Sergeant Randy Apele, head of the Traffic Services Section.

In addition, all back seat passengers between the ages of 4 and 17 must be buckled in by seatbelts, Apele said, and children under the age of 4 must still be restrained by a child passenger restraint system.

Apele urged parents to have their child safety seats inspected and to following the four essential steps to protect children in motor vehicles:

  1. Use rear-facing child seats for children from birth until they weigh at least 20 pounds and are at least one year old.
  2. Use forward-facing child seats for children who weigh more than 20 pounds and are at least one year old until they weigh about 40 pounds and are four years old.
  3. Use belt-positioning booster seats for children weighing from about 40 pounds until they weigh about 80 pounds and are 4-feet-9 in height.
  4. Use seat belts for older children large enough for the belt to fit correctly — that is, when they are at least 4-feet-9 in height and weigh 80 about pounds.

To find out when and where to have child restraint seats checked, residents should call Apele of the Traffic Services Section at 961-2305 or John Kaizuki of the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition at 933-0911.

State law provides for a $45 fine for each seatbelt violation. In addition, violators must pay a $15 reimbursement and $7 driver education fee, bringing the total to $67.

If the total fine and other assessments are not paid within 30 days, the total amount increases to $92.

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