The Hawai‘i Island Police Department, in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has launched its annual Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign to remind the public that seat belts save lives.

During the campaign, which is currently running through June 4, HPD along with state and local law enforcement agencies, will be issuing tickets to drivers who choose not to buckle up.

In Hawai’i County, the fine for not wearing a seatbelt is $102 per person. In 2022, four people were killed as a result of a vehicle crash in which they were not wearing a seatbelt in Hawaiʻi County. So far this year, three of the nine people killed on Hawai‘i Island as a result of vehicle crashes were not wearing their seatbelts.

According to NHTSA, in 2021, there were 11,813 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. That same year, 57 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement.
 
Men not wearing a seat belt are more likely to be killed in a car crash than women. In fact, nearly twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females in 2021. Of the males killed in crashes during that same year, more than half, 54 percent, were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42 percent were not buckled up.

HPD Photo