REPORT TITLE:
Mandatory Use of Seatbelts


DESCRIPTION:
Requires minors to wear seatbelts in the backseat of a car.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2311
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO MANDATORY USE OF SEATBELTS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that statistics show a
 
 2 high risk to minors riding in the backseat of a vehicle without
 
 3 using seatbelts.  Automobile crashes are the leading cause of
 
 4 fatal injuries to children under eighteen, and between three and
 
 5 four children under the age of eighteen are killed each year in a
 
 6 crash in the back seat of a car in Hawaii.  More than two-thirds
 
 7 of the youth under eighteen who have died in a car crash have
 
 8 been in the back seat of a car, and more than three-quarters of
 
 9 them were not wearing seatbelts.  On average, hospital costs for
 
10 an unbelted crash victim are fifty-five per cent higher than for
 
11 a belted victim.   
 
12      The purpose of this Act is to require minors to wear
 
13 seatbelts in the back of a vehicle.  The use of seatbelts will
 
14 help prevent injuries and keep Hawaii's children safe.
 
15      SECTION 2. Section 291-11.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
17      "(a)  Except as otherwise provided by law, no person:
 
18      (1)  Shall operate a motor vehicle upon any public highway
 
19           unless the person is restrained by a seat belt assembly
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2311
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           and any passengers in the front seat of the motor
 
 2           vehicle are restrained by a seat belt assembly if
 
 3           between the ages of four and fifteen or are restrained
 
 4           pursuant to section 291-11.5 if under the age of four;
 
 5      (2)  If fifteen years of age or more shall be a passenger in
 
 6           the front seat of a motor vehicle being operated upon
 
 7           any public highway unless such person is restrained by
 
 8           a seat belt assembly[.]; or
 
 9      (3)  If between the ages of four and eighteen shall be a
 
10           passenger in the back seat of a motor vehicle being
 
11           operated upon any public highway unless such person is
 
12           restrained by a seatbelt assembly.
 
13      As used in this section "seat belt assembly" means the seat
 
14 belt assembly required to be in the motor vehicle under any
 
15 federal motor vehicle safety standard issued pursuant to Public
 
16 Law 89-563, the federal National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety
 
17 Act of 1966, as amended, unless original replacement seat belt
 
18 assemblies are not readily available.  If replacement assemblies
 
19 are not readily available, seat belts of federally approved
 
20 materials with similar protective characteristics may be used.
 
21 Such replacement seat belt assemblies shall be permanently marked
 
22 by the belt manufacturer indicating compliance with all
 
23 applicable federal standards."
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2311
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 2 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 3      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
 
 4 
 
 5                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________