Police Remind Motorists to Buckle Up for Safety as Memorial Day Weekend Approaches 

Hawai‘i Police Department and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging drivers to buckle up ahead of the Click It or Ticket seat belt safety campaign. The national high-visibility seat belt enforcement effort, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs now through May 31, 2026.

“Wearing a seat belt is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect yourself in a crash,” said Torey Keltner, program manager of Hawaiʻi Police Department’s Traffic Services Section. “As families travel around the island this Memorial Day weekend, we want everyone to arrive safely at their destination.”

In 2024, there were 9,758 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes. The national seat belt use rate in 2024 was 91.2 percent, which is good, but it can be better. The other 8.8 percent still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

From January 1, to May 22, 2026, four people have died on Hawai‘i Island roads in traffic collisions in which they were not wearing a seat belt. So far this year, Hawai‘i Police Department issued 1,120 citations island wide for seatbelt violations. In 2025, three people died in traffic collisions on Hawai‘i Island roads in which they were not wearing their seat belt and an additional three people died where it could not be determined whether or not they were wearing a seat belt. During 2025, police issued 3,337 citations island wide for seatbelt violations.

One of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign is nighttime enforcement. NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained occupant fatalities happen at night (56 percent between the hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.). Of the males killed in crashes in 2023, more than half (53 percent) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 41 percent were not buckled up.

“Our officers will be conducting heightened enforcement island-wide to remind motorists that seat belt laws are in place to protect everyone on our roadways,” added Keltner.

Buckle Up the Right Way

•           Place the shoulder belt across the middle of the chest and away from the neck.

•           Lay the lap belt across the hips and not the stomach.

•           NEVER place the seat belt behind the back or under arms.

“Every person in a vehicle has a responsibility to buckle up, whether they’re sitting in the front seat or the back seat,” said Keltner. 

For more information on the Click It or Ticket seat belt high-visibility enforcement campaign, please visit www.NHTSA.gov/ClickIt.