REPORT TITLE:
Passenger Safety


DESCRIPTION:
Requires use of approved child safety seats for children under
age 4, and use of seat belts in the back seat for individuals
under age 18.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           672
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO PASSENGER SAFETY.
 


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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that, according to the
 
 2 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), many
 
 3 children die or are disabled in survivable crashes because they
 
 4 were not properly restrained in car seats or seat belts.  In
 
 5 Hawaii, children between the ages of three and four who ride in
 
 6 cars may be legally, but unsafely, restrained with seat belts
 
 7 rather than car seats.  Seat belts are designed for older
 
 8 children and adults, not children in this age group whose size
 
 9 and physical development make seat belts less effective and, in
 
10 some cases, unsafe.  The legislature also recognizes that
 
11 Hawaii's child passenger restraint law does not conform to the
 
12 age standard proposed in the National Committee on Uniform
 
13 Traffic Laws and Ordinances' model child restraint law.  Adhering
 
14 to the nationally recommended age standard will not only increase
 
15 the protection afforded to children in this age group, but will
 
16 also clarify Hawaii's law, making compliance and enforcement more
 
17 likely.
 
18      The legislature also finds that media coverage stressing the
 
19 danger that passenger side air bags pose to children riding in
 

 
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 1 the front seat may actually increase injuries to Hawaii's
 
 2 children since there is no corresponding mandatory seat belt law
 
 3 for back seat passengers.  The legislature thus recognizes that
 
 4 having children ride in the back seat without requiring that they
 
 5 use seat belts leaves them vulnerable to injury.
 
 6      The purpose of this Act is to increase the safety of
 
 7 Hawaii's children by amending Hawaii's child passenger restraint
 
 8 law and seat belt laws to reflect NHTSA recommendations.
 
 9      SECTION 2.  Section 291-11.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
11      "(a)  Except as otherwise provided in this section, no
 
12 person operating a motor vehicle on a public highway in the State
 
13 shall transport a child under four years of age [except under the
 
14 following circumstances:
 
15      (1)  If the child is under three years of age,] unless the
 
16           person operating the motor vehicle [shall ensure]
 
17           ensures that the child is properly restrained in a
 
18           child passenger restraint system approved by the United
 
19           States Department of Transportation at the time of its
 
20           manufacture[; or
 
21      (2)  If the child is three years of age or older but less
 
22           than four years of age, the person operating the motor
 
23           vehicle must either ensure that the child is properly
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           672
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           restrained in a child passenger restraint system
 
 2           approved by the United States Department of
 
 3           Transportation at the time of its manufacture or ensure
 
 4           that the child is restrained by a seat belt assembly]."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  Section 291-11.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 7      "(a)  Except as otherwise provided by law, no person:
 
 8      (1)  Shall operate a motor vehicle upon any public highway
 
 9           unless the person is restrained by a seat belt assembly
 
10           and any passengers in the front [seat] and back seats
 
11           of the motor vehicle are restrained by a seat belt
 
12           assembly, if between the ages of four and [fifteen]
 
13           seventeen, or are restrained pursuant to section
 
14           291-11.5, if under the age of four;
 
15      (2)  If [fifteen] eighteen years of age or more, shall be a
 
16           passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle being
 
17           operated upon any public highway unless [such] the
 
18           person is restrained by a seat belt assembly.
 
19      As used in this section "seat belt assembly" means the seat
 
20 belt assembly required to be in the motor vehicle under any
 
21 federal motor vehicle safety standard issued pursuant to Public
 
22 Law 89-563, the federal National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety
 
23 Act of 1966, as amended, unless original replacement seat belt
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           672
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 assemblies are not readily available.  If replacement assemblies
 
 2 are not readily available, seat belts of federally approved
 
 3 materials with similar protective characteristics may be used.
 
 4 Such replacement seat belt assemblies shall be permanently marked
 
 5 by the belt manufacturer, indicating compliance with all
 
 6 applicable federal standards."
 
 7      SECTION 4.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that
 
 8 matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
 
 9 begun, before its effective date.
 
10      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
11 New statutory material is underscored.
 
12      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
13 
 
14                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________