STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1167

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 427

S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 427, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to increase the safety of Hawaii's children by amending Hawaii's child passenger restraint law. Among other things, this bill:

(1) Requires children less than four years of age to be restrained by a child passenger restraint system that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards at the time of its manufacture;

(2) Requires children four years of age or older, but less than eight years of age, to be restrained in a child safety seat or booster seat that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards at the time of its manufacture;

(3) Provides exceptions to item (2) for:

(A) Children taller than four feet nine inches in height; and

(B) Children weighing more than 40 pounds in vehicles equipped only with lap belts in the rear seat;

 

(4) Provides a general exception for children in the rear seat of a motor vehicle in which the number of persons traveling in the motor vehicle exceeds the number of seat belt assemblies; and

(5) Eliminates consideration as contributory negligence, comparative negligence, or negligence per se of failure of a child under the age of eight years to be restrained, or failure to restrain a child in a child passenger restraint system, a booster seat, or a seat belt assembly.

The Department of Transportation, Department of Health, Kauai Subarea Health Planning Council, Honolulu Police Department (HPD), Maui Police Department, MADD Hawaii, American Academy of Pediatrics-Hawaii Chapter, Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this measure.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children and youth between the ages of four and 14. Many of those fatally or seriously injured in these crashes were not wearing seat belts or were not properly restrained. A study conducted in 2001 found that 90 percent of four to eight-year-old children who were seriously injured in a crash were not properly restrained. Additionally, a four-year study conducted by State Farm Insurance found that children ages four through seven who were properly restrained in belt-positioning booster seats were far less likely to be injured than children using seat belts alone.

Your Committee notes that seat belts were designed for older children and adults and that the size and physical development of children under eight make seat belts less effective and, at times, even dangerous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and American Academy of Pediatrics all recommend that children ages four through seven be properly restrained in either a car seat or booster seat.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 427, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

 

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair