Reminder: New Child Passenger Safety Law in Effect

The state Department of Transportation is reminding the public that a new child passenger safety law is now in effect.

Act 122, which amends requirements for child passenger restraint by requiring rear-facing child safety seats for children younger than 2 years old, took effect June 27. The law also increases the age through which a child must use a child passenger restraint or booster seat to 10 years old and raises fines for certain violations.

“Unrestrained children are three times more likely to be injured in a crash,” Gov. David Ige said in a press release. “Even one injured keiki is one too many. That’s why I signed Act 122. The new child passenger safety law addresses gaps in the previous statute and aligns Hawai‘i with the latest research and national recommendations.”

Highlights from Act 122 include:

• If a child is younger than 2 years old, the child must be properly restrained in a rear-facing car seat with harness.
• If a child is 2 or older, but younger than 4 years old, the child must be properly restrained in a rear-facing or forward-facing car seat with harness.
• All children younger than 10 years old must be properly restrained regardless of how many seat belt assemblies are in the vehicle.
• Violators of the law will be required by the court to attend a child passenger safety class approved by the Hawai‘i State Judiciary.

An electronic copy of the new law can be found here.

For more information about child passenger safety and for information about local child safety seat inspection sites, visit the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition website.