REPORT TITLE:
Mandatory Use of Seatbelts


DESCRIPTION:
Enacts the Tanya Act.  Requires all passengers to wear seatbelts.
(SD1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2311
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
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 legislature is sadly aware of the tragic automobile
 
13 accident that took Tanya Shirai's life in August of 1997.  She
 
14 was seventeen years old and attended St. Andrew's Priory.  She
 
15 and her friends were on their way to a concert and the two boys
 
16 in the front seat were wearing seatbelts while Tanya and a friend
 
17 were in the backseat, and not wearing seatbelts.  The vehicle
 
18 rolled, and the boys sustained minor injuries.  Tanya and her
 
19 friend were ejected from the vehicle, with her friend sustaining
 

 
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 1 permanent and severe injuries.  Tanya died on the freeway from
 
 2 multiple head and body injuries. 
 
 3      The purpose of this Act, as introduced, was to require
 
 4 minors to wear seatbelts in the back of a vehicle.  The
 
 5 legislature recognizes that the use of seatbelts will help
 
 6 prevent injuries and keep Hawaii's citizens safe.  Therefore, in
 
 7 memory and honor of Tanya Shirai, this Act shall be called the
 
 8 "Tanya Act," and shall require all passengers to wear seatbelts
 
 9 in a motor vehicle.
 
10      SECTION 2.  Section 291-11.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
12      "(a)  Except as otherwise provided by law, no person[:
 
13      (1)  Shall] shall operate a motor vehicle or be a passenger
 
14           in a motor vehicle upon any public highway unless the
 
15           person is restrained by a seat belt assembly [and any
 
16           passengers in the front seat of the motor vehicle are
 
17           restrained by a seat belt assembly if between the ages
 
18           of four and fifteen or are restrained pursuant to
 
19           section 291-11.5 if under the age of four;
 
20      (2)  If fifteen years of age or more shall be a passenger in
 
21           the front seat of a motor vehicle being operated upon
 
22           any public highway unless such person is restrained by
 
23           a seat belt assembly].
 

 
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 1      As used in this section "seat belt assembly" means the seat
 
 2 belt assembly required to be in the motor vehicle under any
 
 3 federal motor vehicle safety standard issued pursuant to Public
 
 4 Law 89-563, the federal National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety
 
 5 Act of 1966, as amended, unless original replacement seat belt
 
 6 assemblies are not readily available.  If replacement assemblies
 
 7 are not readily available, seat belts of federally approved
 
 8 materials with similar protective characteristics may be used.
 
 9 Such replacement seat belt assemblies shall be permanently marked
 
10 by the belt manufacturer indicating compliance with all
 
11 applicable federal standards."
 
12      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
13 New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.